A Demon Amongst Demons
by Neonculr
Summary: For a college student, my life sure is interesting. I work as a thief with my best friend, live with demons, and pose as a famous author/actress. My nightlife includes blowing up laboratories and meeting assassins, all while trying to keep everything secret from everyone else. If I let slip my plans will fall apart. With humanity's survival riding on me, what can possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

(A/N): _Okay, so, I've been derping around since I finished my last stories, so now I'm posting this one to see if anyone will read it/like it/etc. I have 3 chapters written so far, so... yeah._

I opened my eyes and groaned, rolling over on the beat up mattress I had. I tossed a tattered blanket off of me and sat up, running a hand through my tangled hair. I walked over to my cracked mirror andgrabbed my brush, ripping through the matted locks. When it was finally tangle free and silky, I threw on my clothes and left the rickety shack I called home.

I walked down the street, zoning out as my tennis shoes were drowned out by the constant clicking of heels. I threw my backpack on to the desk, taking out my notebook in preparation for a lecture.

The professor started speaking, so I scrabbled down notes in my notebook. The lecture was over fairly quickly, so I had excess time to review them.

Class was over and I smiled. "Just ten more days, and it'll be perfect..."I said. I pulled my laptop out of my bag and began typing, furiously pounding at the keys as paragraphs spilled on to the page. The world around me faded, and only the dying battery of my laptop snapped me back into it.

After saving the document to a USB and closing my laptop I headed home, getting ready to start it all over again tomorrow.

I was leaving my last class of the day when some random guy stopped me.

"Joan Connors?" He said, smiling.

"What?" I said blankly.

"Do you have plans tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Cancel them. We're going out." He said, fixing his tie.

"Sorry. My plans are more important." I said, walking away from him.

"Hey!"

I walked out of the main building and headed to my editors house when suddenly a large dog slammed in to me. I fell on the ground and my laptop bag strap broke. A loud _crack_ sounded from it and I freaked out, diving for it and desperately trying to get my cracked laptop screen to light up.

The dog whimpered and my shoulders relaxed. I stretched behind his ear and said, "It's alright. I can probably find a cheap one online. It's not like I don't have my stuff backed up."

"Cerby! What did you do?" A blonde man asked, appearing out of nowhere.

The dog left my side and went to him, who looked at my totaled laptop.

"Did Cerby do that? I'm so sorry. Shiki, give it to her." He said, looking at a black haired man with glasses.

The man handed me a box, and upon opening it I found a brand new laptop.

"Is this the Prada X? How do you have this? It isn't available to the public until next month..." I said, examining it.

"I own Prada Inc. I feel bad about breaking your laptop, so you can have this one." The blonde man said.

"For free? I can't accept something so-"

Before I could protest, the men disappeared. I noticed a ton of black feathers on the ground, but thought it was due to the crows.

I hurried to my editor's house, and after uploading my files to my new laptop he proofread it and critiqued me. After about twenty minutes of discussing which route to take, I departed towards the Agni Plaza.

I had to skip lunch due to that talk with the owner of Prada Inc., but the party was completely worth it. The press had collected outside the venue, so all my fellow actors and camera crew had to escape the back way. I took it upon myself to distract them.

"Miss Connors! Miss Connors! Please, just a moment! How do you feel about your upcoming movie '_Iridescent_'?" A silver haired reporter asked.

"Sorry, but I don't plan to reveal anything about it. You'll just have to wait two more days until it's in theaters."

"Miss Connors, the crew at ABC 7 would like to give you-" the same reported continued.

"Sorry. I don't accept anything from the press." I said. My car pulled up, and before the reporter could finish I was gone.

On the way home I stopped by my favorite cafe where the famous 'Charisma Chef' had recently started working. I didn't really care, I just wanted food.

I ordered my usual, my waitress Angela smiling as she always did.

Instead of her coming back, the chef himself came out. He said something about cake, when suddenly that guy from earlier came.

"So you decided to show up after all. Did you cancel your plans?" He asked.

"Don't be stupid. I still have plans after this." I said, glaring at him. "Angela! Tell them to cancel it. I'll leave your tip on the table." I said, ignoring the two men.

"What? You don't have to tip me for-"

I pulled a fifty out of my pocket and hugged her. "I'll see you in a few days. I'm going to disappear for awhile."

"What? But what about-"

"I'll be there. But if I don't show up here for awhile just stay calm. You can't stress yourself right now."

"I know."

"See you."

"Yeah..."

I walked out of the diner, heading home to what I expected. A note had been slid under my door, and its contents made me smile.

'In ten days, I will kill you.'

With the letter was an Ace of Diamonds.

"Heh. I'll be waiting." I said, folding up the note and putting it in my pocket along with the card.

I put a few extra things in my backpack and grabbed the new laptop charger, bundling it up and putting it in the bag. I walked to my best friend's house, inhabiting the spare room in her house.

"Ready?" She asked, appearing in the doorway.

I grabbed my katana and smiled.

We snuck in to the laboratory together, me carrying my laptop in a black backpack. We had to take back some files for a client, who recently had them stolen from his home.

We made it to the file room, and she kept a lookout while I hacked in to the security system.

"Hurry! In two minutes the cameras will turn back on!" She whispered from the door.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" I said, pounding away at my keyboard. The lock clicked, and I pulled open the cabinet. After locating the files I handed them to her and said to escape.

"Why are you staying behind?" She asked.

"I have to take care of some personal business." I replied.

She lips formed a tight line and she nodded.

Once she disappeared from sight I unsheathed my katana and headed to the main control room. I didn't care if the cameras saw me. I wanted them to.

The cameras clicked on and the alarms sounded, alerting security there was an intruder.

Footsteps rushed towards me, and I smiled as I gripped my katana tighter.

The floor was decorated with bodies and the walls were painted red, along with my clothes and face. I placed my stained katana back in its sheath and pulled out a USB, plugging it in to the main computer. It overrode the system with a virus, causing all recorded data to erase itself. I would set all the file rooms ablaze and escape.

I had just lit the last room when the giant dog from before showed up, grabbing me and dragging me outside and away from the building.

Just as we exited the whole building exploded, sending intense waves of heat out.

"What? Who messed up?"

Messed up? I planned to have the building explode, but not that quickly... Were there other people here?

My eyes grew wide and I started to panic. If anyone else was here, my plans would be ruined. Everything I worked so long for would crumble. I can't slip up now. Not when I'm only ten days away...

I pulled out my katana and scanned the area around me, searching for any signs of life.

"Hey, what are you doing hanging around here?" Someone asked.

I turned towards the person and saw the man that tried to ask me out before.

I lunged at him with my sword, but he sidestepped and said, "Now my plan's ruined thanks to you. You were supposed to be toast."

He's not the one who sent me the ten day letter... He wouldn't be here now. Is someone else targeting me too?

I lunged at him again, cutting open the sleeve of his suit but missing skin.

"Blown to smithereens. Burnt to a crisp... Toast." Someone else said.

There are two? This must be an organized thing. I should assume there's more.

"Do you understand, Joan Connors?"

This is that chef guy... He knows my name, so he was definitely hired.

I lunged at him this time, but he dodged me too.

How are these men evading me so easily!?

"Joan Connors..." Another person said.

That's the Prada Inc. guy...

"You died in an explosion of your own doing. Due to carelessness you set your timer wrong, and you blew up with the building. Well, that was the plan..."

There's no way I set the timer wrong... I checked it three times before I started it. Then that means... I knew it! Assassins!

I stood before the three men, my katana in my hand and no plan in my head. If the first two could evade me easily, I should assume the third one can too. I won't be able to fight them, and I'll most likely not be able to outrun them. But... I can't lose yet.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" A new person said.

He was with the Prada Inc. man... These people have scoped me out all day! I fell right in to a trap without noticing it!

"Don't you get it? Just hurry up and get this over with so I can go home and sleep."

For an assassin, he's not very committed...

"It's not just her that's an idiot, Shiki. It's the entire human population."

Does this one think he's not human or something? Oh, I see. They're all mad. They've probably murdered some high ranking individuals, so they think they're gods or something. It's hilarious.

I chuckled a little.

"What are you laughing at, human?"

"I find it amusing that assassins can become so full of themselves they think they're more than human."

"Get it through your thick skull, human. We're demons, and we're here to take your soul. Once we have your soul, we'll recycle it in to a new human. It's eco-friendly."

Now it sounds more like a cult...

I chuckled some more. "You're all completely mad... Instead of trying to argue with you, I'll just kill you all."

The man raised his hand, and in an instant the building stopped burning.

"Understand?"

The documents! What if the documents survived!? Everything will be ruined.

"Are you an idiot!? If the documents survive, everything will-"

"Everything in that building is ash. Nothing survived."

I'm not sure if I can trust that... But even if they survived the ash and melted metal would make them unreadable. I think it would be wise to listen to these men...

"I was... Supposed to die?"

"You can't change destiny. We don't have the power to alter people's life spans."

The reporter...

"We made you happy today. Aren't you satisfied?" The Prada man asked.

"Let's get this over with. Stand still."

"No!" I yelled, jumping back. "I can't die yet... Not without finishing it... 10 days! 10 days is all I need, and then you can do whatever you want!"

They were quiet. They just stared at me.

This isn't working! I can't lose yet! I... I... I can't give up yet...

My katana fell from my hand on to the ground and my shoulders began to tremble. "Please... Just 10 days is all I need... I'll do whatever you want... Please..."

"Sorry." The first man said, grabbing my wrist before I could get my katana.

"Aw, come on. It couldn't hurt, right? Her time and cause of death have already changed. The angels are going to file a claim over this anyway." The reporter said.

"If we finish it now, no one will have to know about our mistake. I don't want to have to do this, but... Don't struggle. I'm going to take you to Heaven."

"Lita!" I screamed, thrashing against his grip.

"No dice. We set up a barrier so we won't be seen by other humans."

No! She'll hear me!

I ripped one hand away from him and grabbed a whistle, blowing as hard and loud as I could. She'll hear it... She'll come... She'll help me...

The chef patted me on the head like I was a child.

"Sorry. It's so sad to turn a pretty little thing like you in to toast."

Something shifted inside my chest and I smiled under my sad face. If I smile, they'll know something's wrong.

"You don't have to be so sad. The angels resurrect all the souls we collect in to new bodies. It's the circle of life." The chef continued.

He's smiling like I should be happy about it!

"That won't work..." I mumbled, still concealing my smile.

"Ugh, will you just shut up already? Whatever, you're toast."

"Yeah, were only getting more off schedule by the second." The Prada man added.

"But wasn't your dog the cause if this, Haruhito?" The reporter asked.

Oh yeah! Where is the dog...?

"He's right. It's that dumb dog's fault our plan got messed up."

I love you dog!

"Keep your voice down. The angels might hear us."

Angels? Lita always talk about them...

"So, you're saying I didn't die because you made a mistake?"

"Yeah. This has never happened before. That dog messed it all up at the end. Why are you aski-"

"LITA!" I screamed.

"What do you think you're-"

"Lita! I'm here! Alpha 47!" I screamed.

"Idiot! Humans can't hear you inside the barrier!"

My smile broke through my regular face. "She's coming..."

"Cut it out! I don't want this to take any longer than it already has."

Just then, Lita emerged from the bushes and looked around.

"LIT-mmph!"

"Are you trying to threaten us?"

I bit his finger and his hand retracted from my mouth.

"I'll do whatever it takes to finish this." I replied.

"She's got guts. I'll give her that." Haruhito said.

"Even if we give you 10 days, that won't change that you're toast."

"That's all I need."

Lita made eye contact with me, but something seemed strange about it. Like she could hear me when I was reaching out to her and she knows I'm here, but she can't see me.

"Why don't we just give her the 10 days? She said she'd listen to is after that." The reporter said.

"We'd have to hide from Heaven that whole time, you know? There's no way we can hide a human for a whole 10 days." The chef said.

"But..." The reporter protested.

"...Fine. I'll give you the 10 days. Just don't yell for anyone again. I hate people. The last thing I want right now is a lecture from the angles. Plus..." He grabbed my jaw and forced me to face him. "A woman who makes a deal with a demon... For a human, you're pretty interesting.

I pulled back from him and said, "Dealing with you all was a walk in the park compared to 2008."

"Well, if Kakeru says it's okay then I won't say anything. This is your responsibility though." The chef said.

"I know. We can't just have you wandering around, though. You're supposed to be dead. One of us is going to have to keep an eye on you for these 10 days. We'll be watching you 24 hours a day."

"Of course, that includes showering and sleeping." The chef added.

"Lay off, Satoru." Kakeru snapped. "Anyway, enough joking around. Pick who you want to watch over you. Joan Connors... Who do you want to watch over you?"

I smiled. "Lita. 22 minor. See you tomorrow for plans."

"What the hell is going on? Where are you?" She asked.

"Just trust me. I'll explain tomorrow. Make sure to bring it."

"...Fine. Text me." She said. Then she left.

I looked back at the demons and asked, "Can I choose tomorrow? I need to secure my schedule. After that I'll choose whoever is most convenient."

"Whatever. Come on, we should get out of here before the angels come to investigate..." Kakeru said.


	2. Chapter 2

9 days until I'm toast...

I woke up at my usual time, 4 a.m., and opened up my new laptop. Until 7 a.m. I wrote, and after that I went downstairs to get breakfast. Meguru had already prepared it, and after thanking him I ate quickly. I didn't engage in the conversation at the table, and once I finished my food I washed my dishes, placed them in the dishwasher, and went back upstairs to get my laptop.

"Today I have morning classes, then lunch, afternoon classes, a meeting with Lita, a meeting with editor, clothes shopping for the movie premiere, tomorrow and then I should receive the letter..." I sighed. "This is a complication... Having a different base requires excess work I don't have time for..." I mumbled.

I was sitting in class, typing on my computer and jotting down what the professor was saying. Due to unexpected delays last night, I had to multitask and finish twenty thousand words before my meeting with my editor.

"Connors, class is over." Kakeru said, lightly hitting me on the head with a rolled up magazine.

"Huh? Oh, give me a minute." I said, finishing my sentence and saving the document.

Kakeru took off at lunch to take care of some business and I sat alone, typing frantically as my rushed fingers spilled pages and pages of words.

My practically steaming fingers pulled the USB out of the laptop after saving all new data to it. I closed the laptop and sighed, leaning back on the bench I sat on.

Afternoon classes were a drag and didn't seem to end. When the blessed bell sounded I hurriedly exited the room, excitement making me tremble as I anticipated my next conversation to be interesting.

"So, what the hell was going on? I went to your room yesterday but it was empty. I know you didn't have plans to go out, so why weren't you there? Spill it!" Lita said, slamming one hand on the table while placing the other on her hip.

"That doesn't matter. We need to discuss plans for-"

"Doesn't matter my ass. *_Gasp_*! You were with a guy, weren't you!?" She said, somehow reaching the far-fetched conclusion.

"If you want to believe that. Now I think we should infiltrate Sendo tomorrow-"

"Jo, you have a boyfriend and you didn't tell me!? How could you!? I thought I was your best friend!" Lita exclaimed, not listening.

"I don't have time for a boyfriend, damnit. I'm too busy doing this. Anyway, I think we should do it tomorrow. They'll be installing new software, so security cameras will be down for an entire hour. If something goes wrong and we need more time, I can back the system and get us more time."

"You should get a boyfriend. You're not going to be young forever." Lita said.

"Says the one who's had the same boyfriend since 8th grade." I replied, giving up.

"I think that's fine. Do we have a client request?"

"No. This is different."

"If we don't have a request then why are we stealing stuff from a laboratory?"

"That's not important. Just follow my lead and everything will be okay."

"Jo, this isn't like you. Why can't you tell me?"

"Because I can't do this alone." I replied, not looking her in the eye.

I still haven't told her. She doesn't know about my plan or anything else. She doesn't know I'm going to die in 9 days. If I tell her, she won't help me. She'll think I'll live if I don't finish my mission. In reality, she'll just ruin everything and make me trip at the finish line. I need her.

"...Is it a secret you haven't told me yet?"

I nodded, too ashamed to look at her. I hated not being able to tell her. I couldn't even tell my best friend my secret because I knew she wouldn't accept the fact I'm going to die.

"How long have you kept it?"

"Eighteen years." I replied.

"...Will you tell me someday?"

"You'll figure it out before I can tell you. I'll meet you at Sector 8, twenty-three hundred hours."

"Wait-!"

I closed the door behind me and hurried to my car, a single tear sliding down my cheek as I whispered an apology.

For someone who hates liars... I sure am a big one.

After a huge argument with my editor I stormed out of his house and drove myself to a small cafe, wanting to avoid the Demon House until I went to fetch my letter. My editor decided that the majority of what I wrote wasn't going to interest the targeted audience, and I told him my writing wasn't going to follow a mold targeted at one audience. He told me my book wouldn't sell. I told him I didn't give a damn, and I wasn't going to toss twenty thousand words, _the_ most important twenty thousand words in the _entire_ book, out the window and start over with something new.

He didn't like that.

I didn't like how he didn't like that. So I left.

And now here I am. Alone. And stressed.

"I've lied to my best friend and now I've probably lost my editor..." I mumbled. "None of this would have happened if those damn demons hadn't stressed me out the other day. If I had been totally calm none of this would have strayed from my plan..."

No... This is my fault. I had lied to my best friend, so I took it out on my editor. I probably misheard and overreacted... I need to apologize.

I looked up, only to see my frantic editor exiting his car.

"Heh, I should expect nothing less." I said to myself.

After an awkward apology and a finished editorial period, I waved goodbye to my editor and drove to my old shack in my rickety car. Upon opening the door, I found exactly what I was looking for.

'Meet me at Toms on Monday. Booth 7, 3 PM. If you don't show up, I'll kill her.'

An Ace of Hearts fluttered to the floor, and I put it in my pocket with the Ace of Diamonds.

"See you then, Ace." I said, smiling.

I arrived later than expected to the Demon House, since I had to push shopping to after my letter. It didn't help that I'm extremely picky when it comes to clothing, and don't even get me started on shoes.

I came home to an empty house. It was unusual. I figured at least one person was always at home, or at least Cerby would be in the yard.

"They're probably toasting someone." I told myself. "Heh, if those guards at the laboratories were actual people they'd be swamped."

I hauled my tired body and single shopping bag up to my room, falling on to the bed. "Do they have a shower here...? Of course they do. Well, I'm living here, so I should be able to use it..."

I rolled on to the floor and kicked off my shoes, reluctantly standing up and heading for the bathroom.

"Where are the towels in this house?" I asked, looking through cupboards and closets. I had checked the bathroom and was currently searching the hallways, but no dice. "What if they're in that little drawer under the bathroom sink? But there's no way enough towels could fit there... Well, I only need one so I might as well check."

In that drawer were three towels, so after locking the door I started the water and undressed.

The hot water eased my nerves and provided temporary relief from the aching knots in my back. I washed my hair and body, using the only soap in the shower I could find. So, I exited the shower smelling like a man.

I smelled freaking fantastic.

I dried my body and slipped on my pajamas, wrapping my hair in the towel and plugging in my hair drier. The mirror had been fogged up due to the hot water, but I was used to not having one in the first place. My straightener heated up as I dried my hair, heating the room more than it already had been.

I was almost done straightening my hair when I thought I heard a noise from outside.

"Guys? Are you home?" I asked.

No answer.

I shrugged it off and continued straightening.

Then I heard it again.

I opened the bathroom door and called out in the hallway, but still got no answer.

I was about to finish the last piece of hair when a loud think sounded just outside the door. Before I could react it flew open, causing me to scream and flinch. I closed the 320 degree straightener right on my hand, making me scream and loose my balance.

"Jo! I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you in here!" Meguru exclaimed. "We need to put your hand under some cold water..." He said, turning on the faucet and helping me up.

I cringed as the cold water stung against my hand, but it made it feel better at the same time.

"Oh, I hope it doesn't scar. I'll get you some bandages." He said, opening a cabinet just above the mirror.

I finished my last piece and unplugged the straightener only to find Meguru staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You just burned your hand on that thing and you still use it?" He said, beginning to wrap up my hand.

"Well, I can't just have one random piece of wavy hair. Besides, when I don't straighten it it'll frizz up, and frizzy hair is hard to hide on missions."

"Missions? What kind of missions?" He asked.

"My best friend and I steal things and give them back to their rightful owners. Like, if a painting was stolen from someone we'd steal it back before it sold on the black market. Most of the time you have to hire us, but if whatever was stolen strikes our interest we'll return it free of charge."

"What about the police?"

"The police are scratching their heads trying to find us. The only real threat to us is assassins."

"Weren't you afraid of dying?"

"I'm afraid of her dying. She has a husband at home. If she dies, her husband will kill himself. I was going to die regardless."

"What do you mean?"

Oops. I said too much. I sighed. "Even if I wasn't supposed to be toasted, I'd have been murdered in 9 days."

"I don't understand-"

Suddenly the front door downstairs opened loudly, and we heard Kakeru yell, "Damnit! Where the hell is she!? How did a human escape so easily!?"

Oops...

Meguru and I ran downstairs, meeting an angry Kakeru and everyone else.

"There you are! Where the hell did you go!? We looked all over for you!" He yelled, furious.

"I'm sorry. I had an... unexpected change is schedule and came back late."

"Why is your hand bandaged up?" Haruhito asked.

"I... I burnt it with my straightener..."

"Idiot." Shiki commented.

"It's not my fault! Meguru scared me!"

"Why were you straightening your hair this late at night?" Kakeru asked, loosening his tie.

"I had just gotten out of the shower." I replied.

"Without me? You're so mean."

"Shut up Satoru." I snapped.

"I don't want this to happen again. Tell us who you want to watch over you so all of us won't have to go on a wild goose chase again." Kakeru said.

"Alright, I choose Meguru." I stretched and said, "night everyone. See you in the morning."

I ignored their calls and went upstairs, passing out as soon as I hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

8 days until I'm toast...

The day went normally, attending classes and meeting my editor after. The only difference was Meguru had accompanied me all day.

"I'm going to make a stop real quick. Come on." I said, unbuckling myself after placing my car in park.

I unlocked the door to Lita's house and grabbed the shopping bag from yesterday, entering the bathroom and slipping on the strapless black silk dress. It had a sweetheart neckline and flowed down to the floor, with a red hem on top and bottom. I pulled my hair in to a quick but stylish updo, secured it with a black and red clip, and re-bandaged my hand. I slipped on my heels and had started my makeup when Lita screamed.

"Don't worry Lita! The guy's my company for the premiere!" I yelled.

She gasped. "Are you Jo's boyfriend!?"

I exited the bathroom after I applied my red lipstick and thin black eyeliner. I had also used mascara, naturally.

Both Meguru and Lita stared at me.

"Too much?" I asked, clutching the black and red wallet in my hand.

"Not at all! You look amazing!" Lita said, squishing my cheeks.

I scrunched my face up and turned away from her. "You always say that. Come on Meguru, I don't want to be late to my own movie premiere." I grabbed his left hand and pulled it, causing him to flinch.

"I'll be there too!" Lita exclaimed, running in to the bathroom.

"What's wrong Meguru?" I asked. I eyed his gloved hand and retracted. "Never mind. Let's go."

We arrived at the movie premiere in silence, and my freshly painted nails gripped my bag tightly. I started to tremble, both nervousness and excitement beginning to well up inside me.

"Are you alright?" Meguru asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I flinched and turned away from the window, looking at his worried face. I retracted a bit since he was so close, but a smile enveloped my face as I realized I was getting closer.

"I'm better than alright... I'm _ready_." I said, turning back to face the window as I smiled.

Meguru's hand retracted, but I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I didn't even notice.

We reached the premiere and the car door opened, and as soon as I set my foot on the ground, my left hand reached for Meguru's right, and I flipped my hair as I slipped a pair of shades off of my face.

Flashing lights erupted around me as I drug Meguru down the red carpet, and he seemed so disoriented I pulled him close and whispered, "the more you look like you don't know what you're doing, the more obvious it is. Just follow my lead."

I pulled away and flashed a smile at him, while squeezing his hand a little tighter. His eyes widened a little and he blushed, but he quickly smiled and relaxed.

"Miss Connors! Miss Connors! Is this young man your boyfriend?" A reporter asked me.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I replied, sending a flirtatious wink as I blew a kiss at the camera.

"Miss Connors! How do you feel about the release of your new movie?" Another reporter asked.

My expression turned sinister as I smiled, but I quickly flashed my million dollar smile in its place. "I just hope that whoever sees my movie reads my upcoming book, also. For the full experience, of course."

"Experience, you say?"

My smile stayed the same, but I couldn't help but had that same mad and insane look in my eyes.

"Of course. Everything in my book and movie are based on a _very_ true story. But, you have to put two and two together to get four."

"Miss Connors-"

I tugged Meguru by the hand and flashed one more smile at the cameras before entering the theatre.

The movie started with a series of clips, like driving in a taxi and attending class. After the intro credits the scene changed to a hospital room, and a small girl sat next to her mother. They portrayed a me as a small child and my own mother. They seemed to be having a conversation.

My narration went over and said, "Mother is dying."

A man walked in to the room, and the narration continued.

"Father was a scientist, but recently he branched off to work on an independent experiment. As the years went on a vast majority were very minor experiments, but he recently created a virus and many of his subjects showed lethal effects. My mother is one of them."

The scene switched once more, and my current self was training in an abandoned place. My narration went on, and it said, "I will do whatever it takes to complete this mission. For eighteen years I have been planning and training. I will show everyone what you really are."

The plot advanced, consisting of me breaking in to laboratories and collecting files, all while being right under my father's nose. Then there was the conflict of the main character's normal life, where typical drama prevailed.

During one heist another narration came through and it said, "Mother herself told me to stop him. Despite dying, she's holding me to exceedingly high expectations. I will do anything in my power to save her, but if she is not pleased with my work I will fail regardless."

The movie continued on for twenty more minutes, and at the climax everyone was on the edge of their seats.

I stood with a dagger, with an assassin in front of me. We were both battered and bloody, out of breath and tired. The assassin had been introduced earlier in the story, but was only a supporting character.

"You bitch... I'll kill you!" He screamed, lunging at me.

The frame slowed down, and as he lunged at me a smile formed on my face.

"I know." I said, a single tear sliding down my cheek.

And the screen went black.

I watched everyone watching the movie, and just as I'd hoped they were completely absorbed in it. Their faces of entrancement soon turned to faces of fear and sadness, speechlessness and shock, and everything in between.

I stood up and said, "Let's go, Meguru. There's not much left to see."

The final frame of the video was an empty room with a blood stained floor and walls, with a small table sitting on it. My upcoming book stood on the table.

"For the second half read 'Iridescent', in stores June 10th."

As I clutched Meguru's arm I trembled slightly, but I couldn't tell why.

We reached the Demon House, and a few were sitting in the living room. Haruhito was among them, and before he gave me a friendly 'welcome home' he stopped himself.

"Joan? Why are you crying?" He asked.

Both Kakeru and Satoru turned to look at me, and I was genuinely confused.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Meguru grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me towards him, staring hard at my face. "You've been trembling since the movie ended. What's wrong?"

"What? I don't know what you're..." I paused when something wet dropped on my hand, and when I brought it up to my face I felt tears.

What the hell? Since when had I been crying? Why am I even crying in the first place?

_"You bitch... I'll kill you!"_

"I know."

"Joan? Tell me what's wrong." Meguru said, holding my shoulders tighter.

I'm... afraid of dying...

My body trembled more, and I felt my heart start to pump faster.

This can't happen now... If I'm scared, there's a slight chance I'll fight back, and if I fight back I'll survive. If I survive I'll spread the disease, and if I spread the disease I'll kill people...

"Joan!" Meguru exclaimed, clutching my shoulders tightly. I looked up at his face, and flinched when I saw genuine concern in his eyes. I'd never seen that expression before, and it caused my tears to kick in to overdrive.

I wouldn't know if demons could be infected by the disease... But I don't want to take any chances. I _have_ to die, to protect Meguru, the demons, and humanity itself.

Right?

I put a hand over my mouth to try and stifle my sobs, but the fact that all the demons were in the living room looking at me, waiting for an answer I couldn't tell them, made me feel awful. In a surge of emotion I tore out of Meguru's grasp and pushed past the circle that had formed, and in that slight moment of confusion I ran up the stairs and closed my bedroom door behind me.

With my back against the door and my laptop in my lap, I threw all of my emotion into pages and pages of writing. My sobs and tears obscured my vision, but my hands had memorized the keyboard, flawlessly pounding the keys at top speed.

When my well of feelings ran dry, as well as my tears, I pulled myself together and put my laptop away. I snuck down the hallway in to the bathroom, and after locking the door I turned on the water.

I used makeup remover to clean my face and stepped in the shower, the hot water melting all my stress away. My feet hurt from wearing heels, and wearing all of my hair up like that made my head hurt.

"Hurry up and slow me down..." I sang quietly. "Just the way you are... Baby, relive this night... Let your heart sweetheart be your compass when you're lost... Hey, white liar... I just wanna be bad, enough, for you..."

After rinsing out the conditioner, which I hadn't bothered to replace with a feminine brand, I turned off the water and dried myself off.

I didn't straighten my hair, or even blow dry it, due to the fact I assumed everyone had fallen asleep. So, with damp hair, I walked back in to the hallway.

I nearly smacked Kakeru with the door, and as soon as I saw him I got a little confused.

"I need to talk to you." He said sternly.

I sighed and followed him.

We sat down at the dining room table across from each other, and he just looked at me.

"You wanted to talk about earlier, right?"

He nodded.

I clenched my jaw and thought hard. I can't tell anyone anything yet. My movie was generally vague, and all I said was that it was based off of a true story. Of course they knew I had robbed a laboratory, but I could probably come up with a believable excuse... No, that won't work. This guy will see right through me.

"What do you want to hear?" I asked cautiously.

"A reason." He replied bluntly.

That's vague, but it leaves room for me to work with. I bucked up all my courage and said, "At the ending of the movie, it foreshadows that the main character is going to die. I was friends with the person I based the story off of, and when I think about everything, I just... I just..."

"That's what's bothering you? If you were going to cry about it then you shouldn't have made a movie." He said.

"I guess you're right..." I said, trying to find out if he believed me or not. My fake tears sure helped with the movie production, but I couldn't tell if Kakeru believed them or not.

"I'm going to bed. This was stupid for Meguru to worry about..." He mumbled, getting up and going to his room.

As soon as I heard the door close upstairs I breathed a sigh of relief. Sneaking through the house silently, I slipped on my skin tight black suit and slipped my katana in its sheath. After sneaking through my window, I made my way to Kiki's Cafe.

Lita met me there, suited and ready, and we broke in to Sendo Laboratory undetected. With my trusty-dusty Prada X laptop, I was able to hack in to security systems on spot without being detected. I got a time sheet and security routes, and I based our movements around that.

"Okay, I need you in this room at exactly 12:15, and you have forty-five seconds to reach this file cabinet and steal the floppy disks. They'll be in the third drawer, lock combination 17-3-27. Also, in the room directly next to it are Petri Dishes with Dolphin cells in them. A client had those stolen years ago, and recently located them. Be careful not to touch the cells, since they're poisonous."

"Roger." She replied, nodding. She went to move in to action, but I grabbed her arm.

"Love you."

She smiled and said, "Love you too, Sis."

We fist-bumped and she left.

At exactly 12:33 a.m. I was crouched behind a wall, floppy disks in hand, peering down the hallway into a lab room I knew all too well. Inside was where I'd been injected. Father injected me slightly after infecting Mother with an experimental prototype. He rejected it and disposed of the remaining, but I discovered that it is dormant at first, hiding inactively and multiplying in the host, then erupts in a contagious outburst. If only one more person gets infected and dies after Fathers death, I'll fail Mother.

The robotic guard passed by, and I quickly snaked in to the room. I gathered samples and research papers, taking everything of any significance and placing it in my laptop bag. I erased all data on the main computer after taking significant files, and then overrode the system with a bugged USB. When there was nothing but the counter, a fried computer, and coffee stains left in the room, I took my timed leave.

It turns out the time sheet was only a general assumption rather than an actual time sheet, so as Lita and I tried to exit the robotic guards raised hell. Lita and I fought all of them, and everything quickly became stained red. She started to hyperventilate and have an anxiety attack, while I suppressed laughter.

This was my favorite part of the job, after all.

We left before the second wave of guards found us, and as we left the building I set off the explosives. Fire gutted the interior of the building, and Lita and I escaped in to the cover of night.

I took the floppy disks from her and sent her off with the Petri Dishes, waving goodbye as she disappeared down an alleyway.

About halfway back to the Demon House I realized I was completely blood stained and smelled like gunpowder. If anyone was up they'd be super suspicious, and I'd have a rough time explaining myself.

I'm willing to take that chance.

I snuck back in the same way I snuck out, and with record speed I wrapped up the bloody suit and switched to my pajamas. My stolen documents were neatly placed with the first, and I stuck the floppy disks in a small drawer.

I stretched and yawned, looking at my laptop placed on the desk.

"Were have you been?" Someone asked.

I jumped and wheeled around, resting my eyes on a concerned but angry Meguru.

"Oh, Meguru. You scared me-"

"Where were you?" He asked sternly.

When my eyes met his I flinched. He had dark circles under his eyes, and when I looked away at the clock I saw it was 3 a.m.

I turned back to meet his gaze, and instead of anger and irritation he looked at me with concern and sadness. They were genuinely worried.

It broke my heart seeing his expression. I felt bad, and suddenly remembered I left the laboratory at 12:42. What had kept me out so long?

"I was taking a walk." I replied, shifting my eyes to the floor.

He sighed. "You're not a good liar..."

I am! If you hadn't given me that damn look I could have-!

"I was worried about you..." He said quietly. "So I waited up."

I pursed my lips.

There was a second of silence, but I quickly broke it.

"You should have gone to sleep."

"Wha-"

"You shouldn't worry about me either. I'm going to die in 7 days, so I'll keep myself alive until then."

"But-"

"Night." I said, practically shoving him out of my room and closing the door.

"Goodnight..." I heard from the other side of the door.

My heart hurt, and I felt like I wanted to cry again.

But why?


	4. Chapter 4

7 days until I'm toast...

I slept for about half an hour, but at 4 a.m. my eyes wouldn't stay closed. I didn't have any plans for the day, so I figured I'd just lay there until I felt rested enough. I didn't expect it to work, but if I tried to write with only half an hour of sleep I wouldn't get very far.

I lied in my bed for a long time, thinking. I didn't think about anything in particular, I just thought. I caught bits and pieces of it, remembering things like chocolate milk and how good gunpowder smelled. I remembered how soft my old cat was, and how his fur was the same color as Meguru's hair. I remembered thinking about angels, and how Kakeru told me to watch out for them.

Apparently I'd fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up to a knocking at the door.

"Joan? Are you in there? You missed breakfast so I brought some for you..."

Meguru... I was so mean to him yesterday, but he brings me breakfast the next morning anyway?

I got up and opened the door, a generally concerned face looking back at me.

"Are you alright? I couldn't hear you typing this morning and you didn't come to breakfast..."

I looked at the clock, and it displayed the time as 7:30.

"I didn't have anything to do today, so I thought I'd sleep in. Thank you for bringing me breakfast." I said, taking the tray from his hands. "And I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Yesterday...? Oh, um, about that-"

"I'll tell you what's happening before I die. For now I just need everyone to trust me." I said, gripping the tray tightly.

"...Okay. I'll trust you." Meguru said, smiling.

"Thanks." I said, smiling back at him.

After I ate breakfast I walked down the stairs into the backyard. Laptop in hand I sat down on the grass, leaning my back against the fountain as Cerberus rested his head on my thigh. I pet him as I wrote, and because I only had one hand my speed was cut in half. It didn't matter much, since I had spilled three days worth of writing yesterday.

I spent the entire day out there, writing and taking several breaks to play with Cerby. He was quite fond of me, and I was fond of animals. To say the least, we got along quite well.

I'd just thrown a tennis ball when Haruhito appeared beside me, sitting on the edge of the fountain.

"What's up?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Nothing. I was just wondering why your room smelled like gunpowder and oil."

I flinched, but I kept myself calm, and asked, "Why were you in my room?"

"I smelt it from the hallway, and I wanted to know if you were trying to blow up the house." He looked up at me with challenging eyes and asked, "What were you doing last night?"

Cerberus returned the ball at my feet, and as I bent down to pick it up my mind raced. Should I come up with an excuse? Should I try and change the subject?

As the ball flew across the yard I reached my conclusion.

"Do you remember when you first met me; I was blowing up a laboratory?"

"Yeah... Why?"

"Don't you wonder why the press isn't reporting about all these Sendo Laboratories being destroyed?"

"It was kind of fishy... Wait, what are you getting at?"

"Haruhito, do you believe in fate?"

He flinched.

"My fate is solid. Concrete. Set in stone. In 7 days I will die. So, I need to finish some business before that. If blowing up a laboratory or seven lets me achieve that, I'm going to do it. Anyone who sticks their nose where it doesn't belong or tries to get in my way will be dealt with. I'll leave the rest to your imagination." I smiled and said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish some business."

At around two o'clock I went inside and made myself a Hot Pocket for lunch, along with a sandwich and some chocolate milk. Meguru and I had a small, awkward conversation, and with shy smiles we went our separate ways. Haruhito eyed me and I glared in his general direction, but I didn't make a big deal of it and wet back outside.

When I returned outside I continued to write, and by dinner time I wrote a total of 120,000 words. Everyone had returned home by then, and with my laptop nearly dead I decided I was done for the day.

I sat down at the dinner table and thought hard, the gears in my head still churning for ideas. My book was nearly complete, and soon my publisher would be hard at work mass-producing copies. Attention will soon turn to my father, and naturally the story will spread. My last day will also be his last, along with the remainder of his laboratories. Once the data is destroyed, the virus will become ineffective. That means Mother will live, and all the other experimented people will too. All research regarding the virus will be nonexistent, so the chances of anyone finding it again are slim.

I could have just done all of this without writing a book or making a movie, but I want my story to be told. I want people to remember what happened, so it'll never happen again. I will go as far as dying to make sure it happens.

"You should smile." Someone said. "Girls are prettier when they smile."

I looked up and saw Satoru with a smile on his face.

I laughed. "You know, in about 6 days I'll be smiling a lot more."

For the first time I engaged in their conversation, and I enjoyed myself. There was smiling, laughter, a lot of bantering, and just general fun. Everyone got along well, despite their differing personalities. It got to the point where some of us had tears in our eyes, and suddenly my heart heaved.

I quickly ceased my laughter as I realized, if I got too involved with everyone, I may have second thoughts at the last minute. I scolded myself. Just minutes ago I'd been telling myself I'd let nothing get in the way of my plans. I set my jaw and swallowed hard, coming to a quick decision.

"Why so quiet Joan? Just a second ago you were laughing with the rest of us." Meguru said, smiling at me.

"I'm sorry. I need to go to my room." I said. I got up and placed my plate in the sink, washing it quickly as I avoided eye contact with anyone.

As I headed towards the stairs I heard someone call after me.

"Wait! Joan, are you okay?"

I paused.

"If something's wrong, you can talk to us-"

"I have graduation tomorrow. I'm going to get some rest."

I continued up the stairs and closed my door.

6 days until I'm toast...

I stood in my robes, a diploma in my hand and a podium before me. The graduating class sat below me, their eyes uninterested and moods declining by the second.

"I shall be brief. My name is Joan Connors, and I'm honored to receive my diploma as valedictorian. I'd like to thank my mother for pushing me and giving me the strength and drive to do my best. I wish she could be here today. In any case, my time at Gyatzo University is now over. Thank you."

I skipped out on the after party and went straight home, wanting to finish my book in the next couple of days.

I planned for the rest of the day to pan out much like the previous, but I had an unusual lack of inspiration. My wording was awkward, my vocabulary was bland, and my sentence structure had little to no variation whatsoever.

"Damn it!" I screamed, slamming my laptop closed. Cerberus jumped at my sudden movement, and had the reaction of biting my hand. I screamed in pain and retracted my hand, the same had I'd burned days before, as Cerberus realized what he did and whined. His tail was between his legs and his ears drooped, so I quickly pet his head and told him I was alright.

Meguru threw open the sliding back door and exclaimed, "Are you alright!?"

I turned to meet his eyes and smiled. "Yeah, just a little frustrated. Um, can I ask a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?" He asked.

"First, we need to bandage my hand. Second, will you take a walk with me?"

After explaining that Cerby bit my hand, which was completely my fault, and bandaged it up Meguru headed out on a walk with me. It was about twenty minutes before noon and the air smelled of cherry blossoms, all while the city noises buzzed in the background.

Our footsteps sounded as we walked, neither of us having anything to say. It was a comfortable silence, and as my tennis shoes scuffed the sidewalk I felt my frustration start to melt away. My eyes drifted over to Meguru, whose eyes were looking off somewhere distant. He had a small smile on his face, and he seemed to be happy too.

My eyes flicked to the glove on his hand, and I wondered why he only had one. It could just be that he loved Michael Jackson, but I doubted he liked much American music.

Suddenly his eyes met mine and I flinched. He chuckled a little at my reaction, and I directed my gaze to the ground in a fit of embarrassment.

"Were you wondering about my glove?" He asked.

Without looking back at him I nodded.

"Here, I'll show you why I have to wear it." He said, stopping.

He stood before a weed in a little planter box, and after taking off his glove he touched it. For a couple of seconds nothing happened, but when I was about to speak up the weed withered rapidly and died.

I didn't know what to say. Kakeru had told me very demon had a special power, but I didn't know it could be something like that...

"I don't want to hurt anyone, so I have to be careful. I wear this glove to protect everyone from the power this hand has..."

I pursed my lips as I listened to him speak. He sounded sad but angry at the same time, and he practically glared at his clenched fist.

I gently put my hand over his gloved one, and he flinched away from me.

"Careful! You'll get hurt-"

I cut him off and said, "It's okay. Just trust me."

I laced my fingers through his gloved ones, and after a few seconds I looked up and smiled at him.

We walked and talked together, and by the time we got back to the Demon House the sun had passed high noon. That didn't bother me, but the fact that I was starting to like Meguru did.

I threw myself into my writing, and the warm feeling of Meguru's hand still lingered on mine. I typed quickly, wanting to release all the emotion into pages and pages of words. I told myself that writing would somehow make the emotion go away. If I poured it out of my body and onto the pages I couldn't feel it anymore. Right?

The sunny sky had been covered in dark clouds, and before I took the time to notice rain started to drip on my keyboard. Cerberus had since fled to the warmth of the house, but I insisted upon staying outside. My laptop had been placed safely inside, but I myself loved the rain. It made me feel calm.

I couldn't help but feel like the rain was sent especially for me, since my emotions and thoughts had been a bit overworked. In the midst of the downpour I realized I was severely stressed, and after a deep breath I felt a sudden wave of fear attack me.

I was anxious. I was tired. I was confused. I was hesitant. I was scared. I was dead.

I lied down in the grass and let the raindrops roll down my face, but I couldn't trick myself into thinking I wasn't crying. With trembling hands I covered my face, rolled onto my side, and bawled.

For a minute, I forgot I was in a house of demons. For a minute, I forgot they could take my life at any minute. For a minute, I forgot I wasn't supposed to be weak. And for a minute, I forgot he was always keeping an eye on me.

"I knew something was wrong."

I squeezed my eyes tighter, and I felt myself get mad. I didn't want him to be here. I wanted him to go away so I could be alone. If I was alone, my plans would go perfectly and I wouldn't have these stupid emotions in my way.

I got myself onto my knees and raised my hand to slap Meguru, but the instant I saw his face I felt something strange. I felt like I could cry. I felt like he didn't see me as weak for crying. I felt like I was able to be as weak as I wanted, and he wouldn't care.

Another surge of tears poured out of my eyes, and Meguru did something I'd never even known. He didn't hit me. He didn't scold me for being weak. He didn't call me an idiot.

He hugged me.

He _hugged_ me.

He didn't say a word, and he didn't need to. He just held me, and let me cry.

In an instant I had my arms around him, bawling like a child with no limits. Right now, I was able to cry. I was able to display my weaknesses with no fears. I was able to express them and let them go.

What I didn't realize was a house full of demons could see us through a glass door, and I was about to hand the one in front of me my glass heart.

Damn it... Why can't he make me _not_ love him?


	5. Chapter 5

5 days until I'm toast...

Earlier today I'd snuck out once again. It was difficult, since everyone was awake. Oddly enough everyone was home, too. I didn't want to break anything, so I took the easiest way out through the backyard, waited until there was no attention on me, and after bribing Cerberus I hopped the fence.

It was at times like this I thanked my fourth grade music teacher. Every day we went up the stairs, she'd tell us, "Marshmallow feet. I don't want to hear your footsteps."

I was a very obedient little girl, so I tried day and night, whenever I could, to achieve soundless footsteps. It was damn hard too; those steps were old and creaky.

I went the long way to Toms, since I couldn't go past the house again. I was sure the demons would notice quickly, so as soon as my marshmallow feet hit the ground I bolted.

At approximately 2:34 I reached Toms, so I reserved our table and waited. As expected, at exactly 3:00 someone sat themselves before me. I immediately noticed Angela, who seemed scared as hell. She had a gun pointed at her side, and with a slight inspection I realized that if he shot her, the bullet would go straight through the fetus.

"So Ace, why did you want to meet me today?" I asked. "As I recall I still have 5 days before you do your job."

"I want to make a proposal. If everything goes as planned, I'll let your friend go. If not, I'll kill her."

He doesn't know she's pregnant...

"What's the proposal?" I asked.

"I've done enough research on you to realize you're the phantom thief who's been stealing back items sold on the black market. The other day I had a very valuable ring stolen. I want it back."

This guy is lying through his teeth. There's no way someone will know I'm the thief without knowing I have a partner. There's something fishy going on, and I like it.

"I see. You want me to steal your ring back. Is that all?"

"No, not at all. My ring is being sold at a black market auction disguised as a masquerade ball. I'll be present at the ball myself, but I'd rather not be on bad terms with my ties also present."

This is really fishy... If it's a masquerade ball, he can just take it back. No one will recognize him under a mask. If he really wants to be that careful, can't he wear a wig?

"Will Angela also be at the ball?"

"Yes. I will exchange her for my ring there. All the details are in here." He said, sliding me an envelope. "Do we have a deal?"

I looked at Angela and said, "If anything happens to Angela or her baby, the deal is off."

Ace took a minute to analyze what I said, and I could tell by the look in his eyes he figured it out.

"Okay. Do we have a deal?" He asked, extending his left hand.

For a second I contemplated him being left handed, but I remembered his right was occupied with a gun.

I extended my dominant left hand and shook on it.

As the two exited, I noticed Ace had changed the gun's position. Now he was pointing as far as possible from the baby.

"Ace, if you're that considerate, why are you an assassin?" I asked myself.

I snuck back into the demon house through my bedroom window, and when I pressed my ear to the door I heard everyone calmly chatting.

I breathed a breath of relief. No one noticed I was gone, so I was spared the stress of trying not to get caught.

I pulled out my suit and sped silently to the empty washer. I'd concealed the smell as much as I could, and I quickly started the washer.

Back in my room, I locked the door and opened the envelope. After reading its contents I came up with a schedule, and a smile crept onto my face.

Tomorrow's certain to be interesting.

I folded up the paper and placed it in my bra. That really was the only safe place for anything, and I really didn't want anyone to find out about my hidden agenda.

I stretched and popped my back, feeling the knots in it start to disappear. With nothing else to do, I walked into the bathroom and turned on the water.

I walked down the stairs as I dried my hair, and once I reached the living room I'd draped it around my neck. My damp hair was draped over my right shoulder, and the towel caught the occasional drop of water.

No one really acknowledged me, so I turned off the TV and sat down on the table.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Kakeru exclaimed.

"I need to talk to you guys." I said seriously.

When everyone was in the living room, the last to arrive being a moody and sleepy Shiki, I started to speak.

"Tomorrow and Wednesday I'm going to be very busy. On Wednesday I have a very important dance to attend, and I'll be going alone. If I take Meguru with me, it will be problematic. But, if I do not return by Thursday at noon, assume I've been kidnapped."

"Wait! What makes you think we're going to let you go off alone?" Kakeru asked angrily.

"I was able to sneak out for an hour and a half without anyone noticing, so I don't think it's that big of a deal." I snarled.

"What? When-"

I cut Meguru off by saying, "I didn't say you guys won't know where I am. I'll give you my location, but I can't have any extras in the venue."

"What the hell? Do you understand that were demons who can take your soul at any minute, and there's angels that will make sure it happens if you're caught?"

"I'm well aware of the situation, but that won't stop me. I'm going to die anyway, so I'm going to make sure everything is done and over with. Not even death can stop me."

"Are you an idiot?" Shiki spat.

"I might be." I mumbled.

The silence in the room was tense. I felt everyone's glares burning holes in my skin, but I was too determined to let them stop me. I'd try to get it through to them, but I can't say much without problems. The tense air in the room made me want to scream. I wanted to break the table, cry, or do anything else to make them understand. I can't tell them. Not yet.

I sighed. "Listen. In 5 days, I'll agree to letting you take my soul. That day there's something I have to do, so I'll keep myself safe until then. Right now, I just need you guys to comply with me..." I said, gripping the table tightly.

I couldn't help but feel like I was going to die. I felt like Kakeru would take my soul from me at that moment. I knew he was mad, and I knew he had the power to do so.

"If we're going to listen to you, I want to know what you're doing that's so important."

I pursed my lips.

They were all silent, waiting for my answer.

"...I'm going to kill my dad."

It was a quiet little town. There was a local clinic where most everyone around went, and the doctor there had the fairest prices around.

The doctor had a family. He had his wife of two years and a child on the way. His patients would often congratulate him, and he'd always smile and say his wife was the happiest she'd ever been. He himself hadn't stopped smiling since he found out.

One fateful day, four years later, the family moved to the city. The doctor's medications from his clinic were being used worldwide, and his research was helping cure all kinds of diseases.

Later that year, his daughter died. She'd been kidnapped, and police never found the body or the culprit.

With no closure the doctor went mad. He began constructing his own laboratories, which employed no living people. It was employed completely by robots of his own invention, meant to experiment using research he sends to them.

Once again his wife became pregnant, and once again she had a little girl. When the doctor held her, he felt the same soul as his first child.

This time he would protect her. He'd make sure no one could ever hurt her. At least, that's what he told himself.

In his studies he made a breakthrough. A non-detectable virus he could control however he wanted to. He made some sacrifices along the way, including his wife and a few hundred others. His daughter was still young. She would believe her mother caught a sickness, rather than him placing the sickness in her. If he was careful, she'd never find out.

He did place a prototype in his daughter, but experiments proved it to be harmless. He figured he could made an antidote in case worse came to worst. But he quickly forgot about hurting his daughter altogether.

He hated his wife. She told his daughter everything, and turned her against him. Just because he wanted to keep her safe. All he did was make a lethal virus that could kill anyone who hurt her. Was that so wrong?

He sat in his laboratory and started to stress. His daughter was destroying his laboratories, along with the precious research he did.

Can't she realize this was all because he loves her?

"WHAT!?"

"I can't tell you everything. I have to wait until the last day. Before you toast me, I promise I'll tell you all everything."

Kakeru sighed. "That doesn't give us much to work with, but I guess we can work something out."

"Thank you. Now, Meguru, we have to visit Lita's house."

He nodded, and we headed out.

As soon as I opened her door she pounced on me, freaking out at the sight of me.

"I need to talk to you." I said.

She immediately ceased her attack and pulled me into her room.

"As you already figured out, I basically moved out."

"Yeah! What the heck? You didn't even-"

"Lita, I need you to somehow get an invitation to this party." I said, handing her the ticket I'd also hidden in my bra.

She looked at it and said, "Oh, I already have one of these. A client wanted a painting from there. I had an extra ticket for you, but I guess you don't need it."

"I'm going to be there, and I have to steal a ring for a client. I have someone I'd also be able to bring along, so that extra ticket won't go to waste."

I took the ticket from her and said, "On Friday, I have to tell you something else."

"...Okay."

As we drove back to the Demon House, Meguru spoke up.

"Joan... Are you really not afraid of dying?"

I flinched. "...What do you mean?"

"After you burned your hand we were taking, and you told me you aren't afraid of dying. Is that true?"

"...Of course it is." I replied, keeping my eyes focused on the road.

"You're lying." Meguru said. "You started crying after you died in that movie and you flinch whenever someone brings it up."

I pursed my lips. "...Meguru, can I be honest?"

"Of course."

I started to cry as I gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I'm scared. I'm stressed. I'm afraid I'm going to mess up. I'm afraid someone besides my father is going to die. Before I didn't really care, but now that this is actually happening I'm so terrified..."

"...Pull over. You can't drive like this." Meguru said, looking at me with determined eyes.

I obeyed and pulled over.

We sat in silence for a moment, and I gripped the steering wheel tightly as I cried. I rested my head on the wheel and started to sob, releasing the fear I still managed to hold inside myself. I thought yesterday would be the end of it, but it seemed like this feeling of fear was a bottomless dark abyss.

In the midst of my distress a warm feeling enveloped my right hand, and I noticed he used his right hand despite slight discomfort.

He pulled my hand toward himself and said, "I'll protect you. No matter what happens, I'll make sure you're alright. Just promise me you'll never leave my side."

I clutched his hand tightly as he cupped my face, and as tears leaked down my face our lips touched gently.

Isn't it a shame promises are meant to be broken?


	6. Chapter 6

4 days until I'm toast...

I sat next to Meguru on a park bench, and as I fidgeted in the uncomfortable clothing I scanned the faces of everyone. I was looking for a specific person, with a gold Rolex and two silver fillings.

Meguru and I were on a mission. Well, a prelude to a mission. We'd disguised ourselves in fancy attire, and we had to act like it was all too common to be dressed to the nines. I had the aid of a very fancy, very expensive diamond ring. It was extraordinarily heavy on my finger, but I knew that it would help me.

I planned to return the ring right after this anyway.

After about twenty minutes my target showed up, and I stood up quickly. I straightened out my clothes and linked my arm with Meguru's, taking our tickets and having them ready.

"Mr. Shaziko?" I asked.

The man turned, and as soon as he saw me his eyes scanned my body. He saw the tickets in my hand and smiled.

"Yes, how are you Miss?" He asked.

He doesn't recognize me. Good.

"I'm fine, thanks. My husband wanted to ask about your line of watches."

He smiled wider. "I see. Unfortunately, my showcasing space is tight, so some jewelry is in the same area."

That makes my job easier.

"That's fine. As long as there's some suggestive lighting, I think I we'll made the right choice." I said, hugging Meguru's arm and resting my head on his shoulder.

As he walked past I handed him the tickets, including Lita's, and with a trick of the wrist three rings appeared in my hand.

I smiled as we walked on.

Before we went back to the Demon House I had to stop by my client's house, drop off the giant stone, and then go to Lita's apartment to drop off her ring from Shaziko, but instead of her I met her husband at the door.

"Oh, hi Jo. Lita's out right now, but she should be back soon. Do you want to come in?" He asked.

"Yes, please." I said, walking in. Meguru awkwardly walked in behind me, and we both sat down on a couch.

He brought us some tea, and when I sipped it I despised how much it lacked any type of fragrance. Lita loved tea with fragrance, but then again the loved anything with fragrance. I found it strange that she allowed plain tea in her house, but I quickly dismissed it.

"So Ben, I think it's only proper to introduce you. This is Meguru, my temporary intern. Meguru, this is my sister's husband, Ben."

"Nice to meet you." They both said.

Ben and I had a little secret. It happened a long time ago, and we both did it without thinking. We've kept it secret from Lita for as long as we've known each other, but it was getting harder and harder to hide. The topic would be narrowly avoided in everyday conversation, and I knew I'd have to talk to her about it soon.

You see... Ben and I hate each other.

There was never any specific reason, but suddenly there was this bratty douche attempting to take my best friend away from me. He made her cry, he hurt her, and he even pushed her to the limits of contemplating suicide, but she still stuck with him. She still told me she loved him even though all he did was hurt her.

I hate it.

I hate the relationship.

I hate him with a passion. He attempted to take her from me, and I'll never forgive him. I'll die hating him.

He didn't like that I was able to secure Lita's time before he even thought about spending it with her. I always made plans weeks in advance, with the exception of some last minute projects, and it pissed him off.

I loved that.

He also didn't like her job. He didn't like the fact that she trusted me to protect her on life threatening missions, and she doesn't trust him enough to start the dishwasher. He hated that I was able to protect her when she was at gunpoint, but he ran away when there was a spider in the corner.

In my years of training, I learned the invaluable skill of reading people. It of course proved handy in detecting liars, but it also served a bonus purpose of letting me know how to fuck with Ben and piss him off.

I took another sip of the tea and asked, "Ben, did Lita tell you about our job the other day?"

"What?"

I smiled. "I see. The other day we infiltrated Sendo Laboratories, and as we tried to exit about fifty guards attacked us. I was able to protect her so well; you couldn't even see a scratch." I laughed sadistically. "No wonder she trusts me so much, arachnophobic bastard."

His face turned from fake friendliness to anger. "You bitch-"

"There's no need for that." I snapped. I smiled and said, "Just because I'm still the first priority doesn't mean you have to hate me so much."

He clenched his fists and snarled, "Why are you here?"

I smiled. "She'll be spending tomorrow with me on a job, and you can't do anything about it."

"What the fuck did you just say?" He spat.

"Oh, right. You didn't know she was still working with me. Ha! You're stupider than I thought. Lita would never quit being my partner because of _you_. You're too much of a Princess. It's a shame that you act like that. Because when a Princess doesn't know how to be a knight, she's nothing more than a whiny priss."

"What...?"

"You can't be a Princess unless you know how to be a knight." I set the cup down and said, "Until you learn you're not a fucking Princess, Lita won't go on the honeymoon. Why don't you be a fucking knight for once instead of a selfish little brat?"

I remember now.

Ben lunged at me and knocked the table over, his shaking fist aimed right for my face. I brought my knee up as I jerked to the side, and struck him right in the gut. Right after my knee made contact with him, my fist met his jaw and he landed on the floor.

I remember why I wasn't scared.

I jumped up out of the chair, and when Meguru moved to take action I yelled at him to stay out of it. Ben had gotten up at this point, and started fighting with me. We exchanged blows, and in our fierce battle I smiled.

I was never really scared of dying.

In my gleeful haze I was knocked into seriousness by his fist, which had connected to my jaw and sent me flying backwards. I looked up at him from my place on the floor, and my smile grew so wide my teeth showed.

I was afraid I'd go out without a fight.

In a split second I was on top of Ben, punching his face repeatedly with no mercy. It felt so satisfying, and the sound of my knuckles pounding his flesh was like music to my ears.

He reached for his pocket, and I was about to pin his arm down, but by the time I noticed I had no choice but to jump back.

Ben had gotten so overwhelmed he had to resort to his pocket knife. I replied to that by beating the living crap out of him, and as he groaned on the floor I wiped the blood from my lip.

In my fury he unfortunately slashed me a few times, but in the end he got tenfold.

"I've wanted to do that since eighth grade. And by the way, your tea sucks." I spat, kicking his pocket knife away from him and under the couch.

I placed Lita's ring on the coffee table, after setting it upright, and wrote a note.

'_I beat up your husband because he was pissing me off. Anyway, you'll need this ring to get in tomorrow_.'

I turned and slipped on my shoes at the entrance, and in the background I heard the muffled sound of Ben trying to get up.

"Come on Meguru. I have a package coming." I said, beckoning him out the door.

We reached the Demon House, and when I walked through the door I got a slightly rude greeting.

"What happened to you? You look terrible." Kakeru said.

"I'm sorry, when a bitch pulls a knife on me next time I'll make sure I look like Beyoncé." I replied moodily. "Meguru, after my package gets here I'll need some help."

"Okay." He replied.

I was surprised he didn't talk about what had happened between Ben and me, but I had more pressing matters to worry about. I couldn't show up to the auction with this cut on my face, so I'd have to cover it up somehow...

I walked up to the bathroom, and when I saw the mirror I screamed. There were several marks on my face, the worst being a slash on my left cheek. It was generally high up, and I could almost say it was under my eye. I had another cut, starting from my right cheek, over my lip, and stopping at my chin.

With closer inspection I saw there were actually a lot of cut marks on me, but it didn't seem as if any would leave scars. I couldn't tell if the one below my eye would, but I quickly dismissed the thought since I would die soon anyway.

"Damn it... Now that I think about it, this actually hurts..." I said, prodding around my eye area.

I opened the mirror/cabinet and took out some antiseptic, spreading it on the wound despite the pain, and also spread it on the rest of my cuts, ranging from my collarbones to my hands.

I placed the antiseptic back in the cabinet and sighed, scanning over my hacked body once more. They'd be a pain to cover up, but depending on the type of dress Ace sends me he'll either make my job easy or difficult.

"Joan, can I ask you something?"

I jumped at the sudden voice, but I instantaneously recognized it as Meguru's.

"Yeah, go ahead." I replied, placing the antiseptic back in the cabinet.

"Why did you fight with Ben?"

"That's easy. I hate him."

"What? Why?"

"He makes my best friend sad. He tries to take her away from me. Every minute I'm not with her, he's trying to do something behind my back. I hate it. Every second I'm not with her, she's at risk of getting hurt. She can protect herself, but if the situation gets bad Ben will be nowhere to be found. He doesn't do shit for her, but she'll be torn apart if he ever leaves her. She loves him more than she'll ever love me, and I hate it..."

Meguru placed his hand over mine and said, "Joan, are you sure you want to keep doing this?"

"Keep doing what?" I replied.

"Fighting. You're stressing yourself out and hurting yourself, and I hate to see you that way. I don't know why you're doing all this, but is it's really so important you have to get hurt?"

"It's fine. I provoked the fight, and it has nothing to do with what I need to do."

"You're always putting yourself in danger. Either you're out stealing something or you're breaking into a laboratory. I don't get why you're doing it, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Meguru... I think there's something you don't understand."

"What?"

"In four days I'm going to die. No matter what happens between then and now, you all are going to take my soul. I won't die until then."

That's right. In four days, I'm going to die. In that time, I have to learn to waltz, get the weapons, finish everything with Ace and the ball, and then begin preparations to kill my father. I don't have _time_ for romance.

"...But in the meantime, I need to ask a favor from you."

"What is it?"

My cheeks got red from humiliation and I asked, "Tomorrow... Can you teach me how to dance?"

I opened the door to my bedroom, and right as I closed the door my eyes were attracted to my bed. The window was opened, and a chill suddenly made me shiver. A single playing card lay face down on the ground, and a beautiful dress was lying on my bed. It was silk, and it had a neon green base. Connecting the torso and skirt was a black belt, and the bottom of the skirt was embroidered with black fabric. From the belt to the sweetheart neckline black lace covered the neon green silk, and the skirt had swirly embroidery flowing from my left hip down to the bottom.

Next to the dress laid some black lace fingerless gloves, and when I slipped them on they reached halfway down my forearm. Several pieces of jewelry sat with it, and they sparkled.

I set the gloves back down, and something I'd missed at first caught my eye. There, just before me, sat the most stunning and beautiful mask I'd ever seen. Like my dress, it was neon green with black lace and embroidery. Both black and neon green feathers flared out on the left side, and it flowed perfectly with the dress itself.

I smiled as I noticed two bottles of nail polish on my desk.

"Oh Ace, you sure do know how to treat a lady." I said, picking up the Ace of Clubs and sliding it in with the other Aces.


	7. Chapter 7

3 days until I'm toast...

It was early in the morning, and both Lita and Ben were out. That was convenient for me, and I silently thanked God as I pulled out my spare key. After turning the lock and entering, I went down a small staircase and punched in some numbers on a passcode lock.

The wooden door slid open and revealed a steel one a little ways down, which I took head-on with my trusty-dusty bobby pin and paperclip.

That dynamic duo got me right where I wanted to be; face to face with a biometric lock. It was an intimidating thing, but I was too busy smiling to be scared of it. What made me smile was the fact that I have an all access pass to the contents behind this lock, right on the tip of my finger.

I placed my thumb on the lock, and after a few seconds of scanning the heavy steel door creaked open. The smile fell from my face, but quickly returned at the sight that lay before me.

"Damn. She knows me too well." I said, tapping the brand new, solid titanium door. "But she still doesn't know me well enough."

I pulled a small screwdriver out of my boot and smiled at it.

"Hey, Joan, um... are we supposed to be here?" Meguru asked from behind me.

"It's my sister's house. I have every right to be here."

"That's not what I meant..."

I ignored his whispered comment and jammed the screwdriver into the lock, using several wiggling and twisting maneuvers to get the door to open. After several moments of Meguru looking at me like I was stupid, the door clicked loudly.

"I don't get how she thinks she can lock me out when I taught her how to pick locks." I said pulling the heavy, foot thick door away from its bolted frame.

Finally I saw what I'd come for. A wide variety of weaponry arranged on the walls, and larger weaponry neatly placed on the floor. Guns and ammunition lined the walls, along with different types of explosives and several safety equipment pieces.

I was sure she had one of every model, but by saying that I'd be underestimating her. Her extensive knowledge of weaponry throughout history fascinated me, but I never was quite interested myself. Hell, I can't even tell you the difference between a pistol and a revolver. Wait, doesn't it have something to do with the barrel? No, the part that holds bullets is different from that. Right? ...Shut up. I can shoot one, and I can shoot damn well too. It doesn't matter; I prefer a sword or a bow and arrow anyway.

"Okay, I need as much ammunition as I can hide. But I still need to have room for some guns, so I can probably take this harness and put the dress over it. Meguru, you need to take a few guns and ammunition too, so you should take a harness as well." I said, handing him a harness.

He didn't take it from me, and just stared at me blankly.

"Come on Meguru, we probably don't have much time until they get home. What are you doing?"

"Joan... Why are we taking weapons?" Meguru asked, still not taking the harness.

"It's a precaution."

"A precaution against what?"

"Against a shoot out or an assassin. Now come on, we don't have time for-"

"I don't like this. I've told you I don't want you to put yourself in danger anymore."

"And I told you I won't get hurt. Now try this on-"

"Please just listen to me. If we need to take so many weapons I don't think it's a good idea to go in the first place."

"Meguru, if I don't go today I could end up dying tomorrow. I still have some time left, and I don't plan to waste it. So, I'll give you an option. You can go with me, or I'll find someone else who will."

"...Can you at least tell me what's going on?"

I pursed my lips. "You'll find out soon enough." I replied. "Now come on. We need to get out of here fast."

Without another word we stocked up, and without Meguru's knowledge I snagged a utility belt filled with grenades, smoke bombs, flash bombs, and C4 if needed.

I also had my whistle, which hung from a small chain around my neck. Of course I always had it, but at times like these it never hurt to double check.

For some reason it hadn't crossed my mind that I might come home to a house full of demons who were all at home. Damn.

"What the hell? What are all the guns for?" Haruhito asked.

"Damn it..." I mumbled under my breath. "I'll tell you later. Right now, though..." I said, pausing to place the guns of the coffee table. "I need to ask a favor."

"What's the favor?" Kakeru asked warily, glaring at me.

I bit my lip and shifted my weight from foot to foot, feeling a bit embarrassed. With my head tilted downwards and my cheeks slightly red I asked, "Can you teach me how to dance?"

Approximately ten minutes later I was in the yard, struggling to learn the dance moves. It looked so easy in movies, but I quickly realized it was much, much harder. In real life there was so much you had to be aware of. Usually that was no problem, but I wasn't in combat at the moment so those super perceptive skills didn't kick in.

It was a train wreck. I was either focusing on my feet, Kakeru yelling at me, or how close something was to my feet. I couldn't focus on all three, and when I tried I'd trip over my own feet. That just made Kakeru yell more.

Mentally I'd given up long ago, but my body and pride forced me to keep trying.

"Ouch! Damn it, quit stepping on my toes! How many times do I have to tell you!? You need to..."

Kakeru's voice slowly faded to white noise, and I took his moment of anger to pause and think.

Why can't I do this? Dancing should be easy! I mean, I can take on fifty robots while protecting my best friend, so why can't I just remember One Two Three Four, One Two Three Four?

_Listen, Self. You need to stop kicking yourself for a second and think. What's different right now that's different in combat?_

Hell, I don't know. Combat just comes naturally to me.

_...Okay, let's put it this way. How do you feel right now?_

Frustrated and stupid.

_How do you feel in combat?_

Exhilarated. Happy. Alive. Combat is the most entertaining thing I've ever done. When I'm fighting, I feel like everything is exciting and I'm perfectly in control.

_Great! Tell me more._

I love fighting those robots. When I'm fighting my motions are so fluid and smooth; almost like I'm swimming. I don't even have to think. I can feel what's going to happen before it does. It's-

_Yes! That's it! Say that again!_

...I can feel what's going to happen before it does...?

_Now, think about that for a second._

I can feel what's going to happen... What does that have to do with danci-! Yes! You genius! I'm too worried about what I'm doing, and not worried at all about what I'm feeling! I love you, Conscience!

_Love you too Self._

I snapped back to reality and Kakeru was still in full swing, calling me an idiot and saying how his feet would hurt in the morning.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Now shut up and dance with me." I said, grabbing his hand and placing mine back on his shoulder.

He scowled, and started instructing me again.

I wasn't listening, and I was pretty sure he knew it. I was focused on his movements, and I was ready to follow them. He stopped talking and sighed, eventually taking the first step of the dance.

His body shifted to one side, guiding my hand and shoulder along with it. I followed that movement, my foot flowing naturally with it, and within seconds my eyes had closed. I sensed everything with his movements, and the slight things he did alerted me of my surroundings. If he turned me to one side more than usual, that meant we were nearing the end of the lawn. When he twirled me, we had plenty of space. At the one point he dipped me, I heard the running water of the fountain right beside me.

We glided to a stop, and when he stepped back I opened my eyes. It took me a minute to figure out where I was in the backyard, and when I did I instantly wheeled around to face everyone else.

I stretched my arms and said, "Well, now that's done. If you'll excuse me, I need to suit up." I walked past them as I talked, and when I reached the screen door Kakeru spoke up.

"Did something happen? You went from a toddler to someone on Dancing with the Stars in two seconds flat."

I winked and said, "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

I smiled and said, "I just pretended I was fighting robots. I'm sure having my katana would have made for a very interesting dance." Without another word I closed the glass door and hurried up to my room, eager for what was to come.

About an hour later I was ready, suited up and dressed to the nines. A mask and makeup on my face, spolish on my gloved fingertips, and all my weapons hidden perfectly under my dress.

One hand was painted green, and the other was painted black. My lipstick was black, and my green eyes popped against the black laced outline of the eyeholes. Mascara and winged eyeliner proved to be effective, and eye shadow's need was minimal. Blush was also needed as a bare minimum.

My hair was in a high ponytail and had been curled, making each section bouncy and pretty. One thin curl was released from the ponytail and draped over the left side of my face. It reached slightly past my chin, but it was curled in such a way that it resided near my cheek and stayed out of the way.

I slipped my whistle inside a strap I'd attached to my thigh. It had pockets, also holding my cell phone and a USB. I also had a camera on me somewhere, and I was sure if I needed it I'd find it.

I'd somehow been tricked into wearing the abomination of heels, and I would have made a graceful entrance down the stairs if it hadn't been for those godforsaken things. I held tightly to the handrail and went down slowly, cursing Ace for giving me fishnets. They reduced my foots grip in the heels, and nearly every step made me feel like I was going to fall and break my ankle.

"You're walking like a baby deer." Shiki commented, sleepy and moody.

I took one heel off of my foot and chucked it at him, getting frustrated because I couldn't walk in them. "Fuck it! I'm getting my tennis shoes! Ace can suck it!" I yelled, throwing the other heel off as I stomped up the stairs.

"What's her problem...?"

I grabbed my black and white DC's from under my bed and slipped them on, feeling a sudden wave of comfort. I re-did my entrance, and when I reached the bottom of the stairs a heel flew straight at my face.

I quickly brought my foot up and kicked it, sending it flying to my left. It pierced the wall, and in a huff I brought my foot down.

"The hell are you glaring at me for? You threw your shoe at me." Shiki said moodily.

"I'm sorry, okay? Look, I don't have time for this. Come on Meguru, if were late we'll probably get shot." I said as I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door.

"Shot!? Wait!" He exclaimed as the door slammed behind us.

Meguru was dressed finely as well. He had on a tux, sporting a plain black mask and green bow tie, along with a matching pocket square. (Little handkerchief in breast pocket.)

We arrived at the venue about five minutes before the scheduled time, and many people were there already. They were dressed extravagantly, and I quickly placed some fancy cuff links on Meguru's tux.

"What are these for?" He asked,

"If someone asks, say they're from Asprey. I'll be with you most of the time, but if we get separated just say they're from Asprey."

"Wait, what do you mean 'if we get separated'? I'm not leaving your side!"

"Whatever. That's fine. But, if someone asks about your cuff links what do you say?"

"They're from Asprey."

"Great." I said, linking my arm with his. I slipped on the ring Mr. Shaziko had given me, and handed the bigger one to Meguru. "Put this on so they'll let you in."

He slid the ring on his finger, and we entered.

At first glance this place would seem very normal. Exquisite wines and rich people, all chatting snootily about rich people things as far as the eye could see. I heard bits about the country club and even a few fragments about her husband's par back in 2011. I didn't care much about what these people were talking about. I cared about finding who and what I was looking for.

"Miss Connors, pleasure seeing you here." I heard.

I wheeled around and saw Ace, standing with Angela. I couldn't see a gun, but I couldn't underestimate him.

"Nice seeing you too, Angela, Corey."

He flinched. "Heh, Corey, you say? Miss Connors, may I speak with you a moment outside?"

"Certainly. Meguru, dear, please stay here and keep Angela company. We'll be back shortly."

"What? Wait-!"

Before he could secure my hand in his grip we slipped through the crowd and made our way to the backyard.

Ace slammed me against the wall and held my neck tightly, glaring fiercely at me.

"I want you to tell me how you know my name, and I want to know now." He snarled.

"Your name is Corey Roger. You've been hired by someone to kill me. You're an assassin only because you have to pay medical bills for your sister, and she knows nothing about your job. She thinks you're a structural engineer, and that you're currently building a massive-"

*SLAP!*

A sudden stinging sensation covered the right side of my face, and it took me a second to realize Ace backhanded me.

"How do you know this!?" He exclaimed with tears in his eyes.

"Your sister is Tina Roger, younger sister of Angelita Roger, currently married to a man named Ben. Angelita Roger, a.k.a. Lita, is my best friend that tells me everything. Even about her little brother being an assassin."

"She knows...?"

"Yup. She's even here right now. She's working on a job with me. She's my partner."

"Wait a second... Does that mean... Does that mean my sister is a thief with you!?"

"Yes Sir. But, I've made sure there's never any evidence if her being there. I can't cover up evidence of a second person, but I can protect her identity."

Ace looked lost.

I pulled out the three Aces he left with me and said, "I'll be looking forward to the Ace of Spades." With that I turned and headed back to the ballroom.

"What the hell...? Why would you accept this...?" I heard him say.

I stopped but didn't turn around.

"I'm supposed to kill you. Why didn't you fight me when I choked you? Why aren't you fighting me right now?"

"..."

"In 2 days I'm supposed to kill you... I'm going to kill you... So why are you saying you're looking forward to it!?"

I smiled.

"Say something!"

"Do you still have that card deck?" I asked.

"What? What are you saying at a time like this!? I'm talking about killing you!"

"And I'm asking about cards. Do you still have that card deck?"

"I don't know what you're talking about... I have a lot of card decks."

"King of Hearts was lost, so I used a Two of Spades to make a new one. You got mad because the card would throw you off."

"...The Aces in your hand are from that deck, and I have that King of Hearts with me right now."

"That was your first card deck, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

I smiled some more. "Hey Corey?"

"What?"

"Make sure you kill me." I said. As soon as the last word left my lips I started walking forward, and I could sense both anger and confusion rising in Corey.

"...I'll kill you... I'll kill you, and finally get enough money for my sister's surgery! I'll never mourn you! I'll be happy you died at my hand you bitch!" He yelled out of frustration.

"I'll hold you to it, Ace." I replied, closing the door behind me.

As I made my way back to the main hallway I heard him scream, and I thanked myself for going so far away from the main ballroom.


	8. Chapter 8

"Joan! There you are! I told you not to leave my si-!" Meguru exclaimed.

I shoved my hand in his face and said, "Shut up. I have a lot to do and no time to do it. Bidding starts in twenty minutes, and I still haven't found-"

I cut myself off and walked through a doorway, grabbing someone by the arm and pulling them into a separate room with me.

"Jo! Geez, you scared me! Can't you-"

"Where's the jewelry being auctioned off?" I asked, cutting Lita off.

"Downstairs, second door to the left." She replied. "By the way, you look totally fabulous."

"Thanks. I totally love the purple on you." I replied. "Anyway, I need to talk to you tomorrow. I'm going to tell you that secret."

"...Okay. So, what should I do now?"

"Focus on the painting. My client is here tonight, and I'm doing a swap on site. Just keep an eye out and an ear open."

"Aye-aye, Sir." She said, saluting me.

"Love you."

"Love you more." She replied before disappearing through a doorway.

I grabbed Meguru's arm before he had the chance to say anything and headed downstairs. I needed to scope out the room before bidding started.

The room was smoky, and all the lights in the room were focused on a covered box. The rest of the items to be auctioned glinted in the background light, but there wasn't enough light to determine what was what.

"Joan, something's wrong here." Meguru said, holding my arm tightly.

"I know. This smoke is weird, and that box it really big." I replied.

I mentally noted all the exits and windows, the estimated square footage of the room, and a general assumption of expected persons.

"Okay, I'm done here. Let's head back to the ballroom."

"Gladly."

We arrived to a filled ballroom, with people lining the sides sipping wine and dancers preparing themselves in the center.

Mr. Shaziko appeared before me and offered his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Meguru gripped my arm tightly. "Dear, it'll be fine. You'll be able to see me at any point while I dance, okay?" I leaned a bit closer to him, appearing to be kissing his cheek, but in reality I whispered, "If anything happens, I doubt anyone here is strong enough to fight you."

He nodded.

I took Mr. Shaziko's hand and he led me to the dance floor, and as the music started he leaded me gently.

"So Miss, I never caught your name." He said.

"What good is a name when a mask is hiding the face?" I replied.

"Is it Connors?" He asked seriously.

"Have you mistaken me for Joan Connors? Sir, Miss Joan doesn't have a husband."

"Neither do you."

Damn. This guy is too observant.

"What if I wasn't?"

"Then you'd be lying."

"What if I was?"

"Then it's lights out." He said, stopping in the middle of the dance and snapping his fingers.

Suddenly every light in the hall switched off, and before I could react Mr. Shaziko said, "And it's time to go to sleep."

A cloth that reeked with the stench of chloroform was shoved into my face, and I felt myself fall asleep.

Damn it!

Lita POV:

'Shit! I missed it!' I said to myself as I saw the lights flicker off. Within ten seconds they were on again, and all the dancers had moved to the sidelines. Mr. Shaziko stood in the center and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to make an announcement. Bidding shall begin in five minutes, and at midnight a special event is to be held."

Suddenly I noticed Meguru, and he looked like he was about to attack Mr. Shaziko. I quickly snatched his arm and pulled him into another room, silently shutting the door behind me.

"Let me go! Joan-" he exclaimed.

I used my hand to cover his mouth and said, "Shut up. Jo is alright at the moment, but if we don't rescue her before she's sold we'll be in trouble."

"Sold? What!?" He exclaimed from under my hand.

"Look Demon Prince, if you want to save her, you have to listen to me."

He moved my hand from his mouth and asked, "How do you know I'm a Demon?"

I sighed. I'll always feel bad for telling someone other than Jo first, but right now I need his help. Besides, he probably would figure it out tonight anyway. With a heavy heart I told him my secret.

"I see... So, how do you know Joan is going to be sold?" He asked.

"I've been keeping tabs on Shaziko for a long time. He's always had his eye on her, and even hired an assassin to kill her. If we don't save her, she's as good as dead."

He was quiet for a second. "Do you know why she's with me?"

"No, I don't. But, I want her to tell me. If it doesn't come from her mouth, I won't believe it." I said firmly.

He smiled. "She really loves you, you know? I'm happy to see you love her just as much."

He's in love with her...

I smiled. "Come on, we have a psycho to save."

We sat through bidding in the far corner where no light could reach us, and no one noticed we were there. The covered cage was where she was, and I could tell by the sliver of green fabric peeking through the tarp.

Finally, Shaziko appeared on the stage once more.

Joan POV:

When I came to my senses I was in a dark space, sitting on my knees with both my hands and feet tied. My vision was fuzzy, and I could hear the buzz of conversation all around me. After blinking a few times I saw a sliver of light near the floor, and I saw parts of bodies shuffling around through it. My skin picked up the sensation of metal, and my feet picked up the discomfort of heels.

"Now ladies and gentleman, time for the main event!"

The cover was lifted, and a blinding light surrounded me from all directions. I couldn't see the people in front of me, and I couldn't tell what was around me. Only the shadow of bars and fat ass Shaziko would register.

I peeked behind me, and black stiletto's sat on my feet. I cursed and thanked Shaziko, and as bidding started I set to work.

By the time the bid was at $780k, I'd used the sharp end of the heel to cut my ropes and hide them without detecting any suspicion.

The price came to a halt at $830k, and Shaziko urged the crowd.

"Come on ladies, gentlemen! Don't you recognize her? This is Joan Connors! The gorgeous phantom thief! Imagine her as yours! She can last a long time, I guarantee it!"

This sick bastard... I can't tell if he's talking in a filthy sense or not...

Suddenly the bids skyrocketed to $7m, and I now held my whistle securely in my hand. I'd secured the location of Ace's ring, and the closest exit.

"This is pathetic. I'll take er for 50 million dollars cash."

Lita!

"60 million!" A random voice bid.

"100 million." Lita said calmly.

"Going once, going twice, sold to the lady in purple for $100m!"

"Once it breaks, things are certain to be interesting." She said.

"Indeed." I replied.

In a split second I kicked open the door to the cage and jumped out, kicking the heels off of my feet and tossing a grenade at the main light fixture. I'd gotten hold of Ace's ring before it exploded, engulfing the room in darkness.

"Exit left 3!" I exclaimed, running to the edge of the stage and jumping over heads to reach the exit. Since I'd ditched the heels in the cage, I was able to kick open the door with ease. Meguru and Lita were at either side of me in a split second, and a smile emerged on my face as we raced toward the main exit.

The large wooden doors opened to reveal Ace, pointing a large gun at me. Normally I wouldn't be scared, but behind him were black Cadillac's lined with armed Mafia members.

"Wha-!?" Both Lita and Meguru exclaimed.

I smiled. "Say Ace, don't you think this is a bit extreme?"

"Shut up. Do you have my ring?" He asked.

I pulled the ring off of my thumb and tossed it to him.

He caught it in his left hand and slid it onto his finger, smiling maniacally. "Thanks. Now, how much do you think Angela and her baby are worth?"

"What are you getting at?" I replied.

"Oh I dunno, maybe I want a fairer trade."

"You got what you wanted, Ace. Now give me Angela."

"Not so fast. Angela herself might be worth a ring, but what about her baby? What if it becomes president? What if it finds the cure to cancer? Will a ring really match that in the long run?"

"The hell do you care about the long run? Just let her go."

"I want you in exchange."

"...What?"

"You heard me. I want you to willingly come with me in exchange for Angela _and_ the baby."

"How will that benefit you?"

He flinched.

"You know Ace, you're not hard to predict. You want your targets or resist you, and you want them to fight back so your victory is sweeter. You and I both know I'm walking away with Angela _and_ her baby, so unless you want every single person behind you hurt I suggest you hand her over."

*BANG!*

Angela screamed, but no harm came her way. Everyone expected a hole through her stomach, but when there was no blood to be seen eyes wandered.

A dark chuckle sounded in my throat as the bullet wound in my right arm throbbed. Blood trickled down my arm as my laughing got louder, and the whole time I kept eye contact with Ace. I interrupted my laughter and smiled at him. "Oh Ace, don't you know I'm a psycho sadist when I fight?" I said.

Fear flashed across his face, an in an instant Angela was taken safely in Lita's arms as a grenade exploded in the middle of all the cars. I slashed countless mafia members with my katana in one hand, and I shot others in the legs, arms, and shoulders with a gun in the other.

It was a glorious fight. The sweet smell of gunpowder, the bitter taste of iron, and the exhilarating feeling of unfair combat made me ecstatic. I loved fighting. Watching your enemy cringe in pain at your feet, the beautiful red color staining your blade, and the terror on their faces made it wonderful.

I ditched my dress long ago, and I fought in my freshly washed black suit. I had to make some slight modifications to the sleeves, but it was worth it. Being able to fight this effectively made everything worth it.

His numbers were big. Very big. He had people in the mansion. He had backup flying in. He had an army of armed mafia men behind him.

I was willing to fight, but I wasn't as capable as I thought. There must have been over a thousand men here, not counting the ones I'd taken down already. It wasn't going to end well for me, because I was foolish and underestimated him. My ego told me I'd be able to take him, but this overwhelming force of experienced mafia members proved too much for me to handle. I fought desperately, but as a never ending circle of men surrounded me I'd soon have to come to the realization that I'd failed.

A knife plunged into my leg and I cringed. The mafia members took that slight second to attack me ferociously. Bullets grazed me, knives slashed me, and countless fists and feet connected with every part of my body. Another knife plunged into my back and several bullets punctured my skin.

My body hit the ground, and right when I expected death Meguru appeared out of nowhere. How he got through the tight circle I didn't know or care. I just wanted him to protect me, and I felt pathetic for it.

He was incredible. He fought like nothing I'd ever seen before, and it amazed me. Before today I'd almost forgotten he wasn't human, but as I watched him pulverize the mafia men his power and strength reminded me of it. I wasn't scared, but I was surprised. Never in a million years would I expect Meguru to hurt anyone. He was so against me fighting, I'd doubted he'd ever do it himself.

As I watched him, my heart started pumping faster. I was on the verge of an adrenaline rush, and I was ready to go insane. My body wanted to fight until these men fled in terror. Meguru inspired me. He was so against ever hurting anybody, but here he is beating the crap out of these men and sending them flying.

Suddenly the rest of the demons came out of nowhere, fighting like an unstoppable tank. Their inhuman strength was even greater than Meguru's, and as I watched them from the ground my palms got sweaty. They knocked men left and right with their bare fists, dodging bullets and slashes like this was an everyday thing. It was incredible.

I wanted to do the same.

It all happened in a haze. My body denied its sense of feeling, and my heart pounded so fast I thought it would burst. I was in an adrenaline rush, and there were no signs of stopping anytime soon. Ace would see my wrath firsthand, I guarantee it.

Lita told me about this before. She told me when I was in a near death situation I would go berserk. My broken body would do whatever it could to get me out of it. Her words on it were, "It's insane. You'll be lying on the floor, super close to dying, but suddenly you'll stand up with this crazy look in your eyes. You just stand there and smile for a minute, and whenever something charges at you... I'd compare you to Taz from that point on. You just do these crazy fast attacks and look like a tornado. Bodies fly from every direction and its worse when you're circled. You'll wait until everything starts attacking you, and within two seconds the entire circle is gone. I was scared the first time I saw it. You were inhuman."

I would describe it as a destructive blackout. I never saw what I did, but I heard and felt it. Most of the time I wouldn't remember for a long time after, but my dreams usually consisted of those fights. From what I heard and how my body responded to them, I figured they were awesome.

I smiled. This is what I've trained myself to be. A puppet that will bend to its master's will. Inhuman things are just a part of that contract, and I couldn't be happier.

After explosions, gunshots, stabbings, and hand-to-hand combat, the only remnants of Ace and the mafia were ammunition shells, abandoned cars, and the wind.

"Joan! Joan, are you okay!? How's your arm!? Does it hurt!?" Meguru exclaimed, running up to me. Everyone else followed him.

I was nearing the end of my adrenaline rush, and my defenses started winding down. My heart rate had gone down significantly, and my sight started to return. I turned my gaze to everyone's blurry figures, and Lita approached me cautiously.

"Is it over...?" She asked warily.

I smiled. "It's great, isn't it? You can still small the gunpowder!" I said. My voice came out slow and even, and I compared myself to the Undertaker from Black Butler. "I wish there were still a couple here. It'd be wonderful to have some just for fun..."

"What's wrong with her...?" Haruhito asked.

"Jo, does anywhere hurt?" Lita asked.

I looked straight at her. "I haven't told you, have I?" I took a step closer to her, and she jumped a little. "The best thing happens when I'm this way, you know? It's almost like I don't have a body at all!" I placed my hands firmly on her shoulders, leaning in close and staring at her blurry eyes. "I can't feel anything at all!"

Her eyes widened.

"You don't believe me, do you? That's unfortunate... It's so great, I'll just show you!" I said. In one swift movement I ripped the knife out of my back, and blood splattered from the wound.

"Jo! Stop it! I believe you!" She screamed.

Just then my sight fully returned to me, and the expressions on everyone's faces were new to me. I saw fear, disgust, and surprise. Their body language told me they were scared, but at the same time ready to stop me if I did something irrational.

I chuckled. "Is that so? Well then..." I dropped the knife on the ground, and there was a short moment of silence and uncertainty.

"Are you scared?" I asked.

They were all silent.

I smiled wider. My eyes surveyed everyone once more, and chills went down my spine when I looked at Meguru. He was clutching his left arm, and his sleeve was stained red.

"Her eyes..."

"Meguru... You got hurt?"

He tried to cover up his arm and act like nothing happened, but a sudden wave of nausea and lightheadedness made me sway. I sat on my knees and clutched the ground tightly, this sudden burst of feeling bringing me back to my normal senses.

"I'm sorry..." I whimpered.

"It's not your fault!" Meguru exclaimed hurriedly, trying to console me.

"It is my fault! If I wasn't a smart ass, none of this would've happened! I pissed Ace of because I tried to act like I was cool, but if I would've kept my fucking mouth shut you wouldn't have gotten hurt!"

"Jo... When did you start crying again?" Lita asked.

Shit...

I bit my lip as I realized tears started dripping from my eyes, and I sighed. "Lita, I..."

"You what?"

My teeth were clamped together tightly, and I dared not open them to finish my sentence or I'd scream. All the feeling in my body returned at once, and the immense pain and stress I'd put my body through was in full swing. My left calf and back had knives struck through them, and I had bullet wounds in my right arm, my left shoulder, and my left foot. I had a lot of other cuts, bruises, and bullet grazes over the rest of my body. The only thing I could do to express it was cry, and boy did I. My eyes were almost like waterfalls, with huge streams f tears flooding down my cheeks onto the pavement.

"Shit, she's going to pass out soon. Her feeling is back." Lita said.

She was right. About two seconds after she said that, I passed out.


	9. Chapter 9

2 days until I'm toast...

I woke up in Lita's house, heavily bandaged and aching. At the moment I was more annoyed than in pain, but I still wasn't in very good shape. My back seriously hurt, and my head was pounding.

"Jo? Are you awake?"

"Hmm? Yeah..." I said, sitting up and looking at Lita. "Did you bandage me up?"

"No, a doctor did after making sure nothing was wrong." She replied.

"What doctor let me out of a hospital in this condition?" I asked, propping myself up with my good arm.

"I did."

My eyes darted to the person, my mind racing. I hoped, prayed, _needed_ my mind to being playing tricks on me, but when my green eyes met those steely grey ones I wanted to scream.

"I called your dad, since I knew you'd get mad at me if I took you to a hospital."

I didn't reply.

"Can I have a minute with her, please?" My dad said, resting his hand gently on Lita's shoulder.

Why can't I move!? Why am I letting him touch my best friend with his filthy hands!? I'll kill him a day early!

She nodded and left the room. When the door closed, my dad directed his eyes to me.

"I didn't expect to find you this easily. You know, I was shocked to find your little shack abandoned. Are you living here now?"

"No, I don't, so don't do anything to this house." I snarled.

"What a shame. I was going to send you a care package."

"With a bomb in it maybe…" I muttered.

"How did you get so banged up in the first place?" He asked, sitting at my bedside.

"What do you care?" I snapped.

"I don't like when you get hurt. I wish you took better care of yourself."

"The hell? You sent an assassin after me and you're saying you don't want me hurt!?"

"What? There's an assassin after you!? Is that why you're hurt so badly!?"

"Wait, you didn't send Ace after me?"

"Heavens no! Why would you think I'd do that!?"

"I wouldn't put it past you, Murderer." I spat.

He looked hurt. "Sweetheart, you don't understand. I'm doing everything for you."

"_What_?"

He put his hand over mine and I tried to flinch away from him, but my body wouldn't let me. "This virus will destroy anyone who could ever hurt you. That way, you and I can live together with no worries! But, those plans all changed when your wretched Mother warped your perception of my project. Now I have no choice but to take extreme measures. I was going to wait until tomorrow when you came for me, but right now it will be less painful."

He pulled a needle out of his lab coat and smiled at me.

"Li… L…!" I tried to scream for Lita, but my throat had suddenly become dry and swollen. I couldn't yell, and I almost couldn't breathe.

Lita! Help me! Someone, anyone walk through the door! Please!

"Joan, my little girl... I love you so much. I hate that I have to do his, but now no one can ever hurt you again. You might have some trouble moving, but that's fine. It'll all be over soon anyway."

No! Get away from me! I'm going to kill you if you take another step!

He stuck the needle in my arm, and as the fluid entered my bloodstream I felt lightheaded.

"Now no one can hurt you anymore... We can be happy together." I heard him whisper.

My head swam as I tried desperately to reach him, but whatever he did to me made me completely immobile. I couldn't case after him, I couldn't scream for help, and I couldn't help myself.

He kissed my forehead and exited the room, saying to Lita, "I have her some anesthesia and a painkiller. If she rests, she should be all better in no time."

Be all better if I go to sleep…? No… No… No no no no no! That can only mean one thing!

He injected m with something lethal! No! I can't die yet! I have to kill him!

It was excruciating. I couldn't move any part of my body, and it all went limp. I just lied on the bed, staring at the door that atrocious man walked through. All of this happened because I set Ace off with my comment. If I didn't try to leave an impression or act cool, I could have been alive tomorrow. All of my plans could have gone perfectly.

Lita, what will you do when I don't wake up? How long will you wait? Ben will sure be happy. Now I'm out of his hair and you're all his. Just make sure you keep your promise to me and hold off on him until he's grown up, okay?

Meguru… There's a lot I can say to you. I like you. Yes, it was rushed. Yes, we don't know each other very well, but… I felt it. You're different from everyone else. I can show my weak and wimpy side to you, and you don't care. You won't take that moment to ridicule me or even kill me. I was so happy that someone accepted that side of me. It's both amazing and pathetic that I fell in love with you so quickly. Thank you for giving me the love I thought I could never have.

No, I didn't accept death. I'd fight it until the very last second. I'm not going to die fearing death, wanting to pray, scream, and cry for my life to be done another way. I'm going to fight to continue the life I've lived. I have things to finish, and I'm not willing to accept failure. I'll fight this losing battle.

As I fought the losing battle, Death struck me hard. Pounding its fists onto my broken body and slashing me with its scythe, he laughed at me. With one final swing, I felt myself lose the battle.

"NO!"

Suddenly my body slammed against a hard surface, sending a shockwave of pain throughout itself.

The door opened and Lita ran in, yelling, "Jo! Are you okay!?"

I jumped up and tackled her, ignoring the searing pain in all of my limbs. She fell back from he force and I ended sitting on top of her, but I paid no attention to it.

"He's trying to kill me! Lita! Get the guns and… And… Huh?" I realized I wasn't dead, and suddenly both relief and fear washed over me.

"You must have had a crazy-"

"Did you call a doctor!? Who did you call!? ANSWER ME!" I screamed, shaking her shoulders roughly.

"I did it myself… I'm in med school, remember…?" She said, her eyes spinning.

Her words made my shoulders relaxed and I took a second to breathe. At my silence she was surprised and spoke up.

"Are you okay?"

"Lita… I need to tell you something."

"And tomorrow, after everything I've done…"

"Jo… I didn't even know you were a toasting candidate… If there was anything I could do to stop this, I would have done it so long ago…"

"It all comes to tomorrow. That's why that dream scared me so much. Now, how did you know Meguru was a demon?"

She looked at me with teary eyes and said, "I'm your guardian angel."

"What?"

"Ever since you were little it was my job to take care of you. That's why we've gone to the same schools. My job is the reason I got to become your best friend. Jo… you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I… I wish I could stop this…"

I placed my hand on her shoulder and said, "Okay, I totally don't doubt that you're an angel, but don't angels have totally badass wings? And what about Ben?"

Ben came from out of nowhere and slapped me lightly on the back of the head. "I'm her guardian angel. It would have stayed that way if you hadn't tried to take that from me."

"Wait, you didn't like me because you thought I was more of a guardian angel to her? Hell, I'm just her sister. I could never beat you and angel status."

He smiled.

"Anyway, I have today to recover, and I have to talk to the demons about tomorrow. Thanks for treatment, but I'm going to head home."

"Jo! You can't drive in your condition!" Lita exclaimed.

"I live with demons and made a guardian angel jealous of my guardianship skills. Right now, I can do anything." I replied, walking out the door.

On the drive home I smiled. There was no way Lita could keep anything from me. In high school we exchange diaries, and while I wrote about everyday things, the filled twenty seven secret pages with her worries about becoming so close to me. She was afraid she wouldn't let the demons do their job when the time came. She said and I quote, "Sometimes I wish I could be something more than her guardian angel."

Silly girl.

Right when I opened the door to the demon house, I had to dodge the remote. It connected with the door behind me and snapped clean in half, hitting the concrete and shattering.

"Don't tell me to calm down! If something happens to her, it's my fault!" Meguru screamed. He was facing Kakeru, and everyone else stood back.

"Umm, should I come back later…?" I said, closing the door behind me.

Everyone turned and looked at me, shock filling their features, but quickly being replaced with happiness and relief.

"Joan! What are you doing here!? I thought you were supposed to be recovering at Angelita's!" Meguru exclaimed.

"I was. I just left there, actually."

"Did you just wake up?" Kakeru asked.

I looked down and saw I was wearing a tank top, fluffy pajama bottoms, and no shoes. Oh hell, my hair probably looks terrible if I spelt in this ponytail…

"Yeah, now that I think about it. I just kind of freaked out over my dream and talked with Lita… and then I came here without checking if I should even be moving…"

"Here, you need to come sit down…" Meguru said, guiding me to the couch.

"I'm fine, I promise." I said, taking a seat. "But I have all my stuff here, and I need to get ready for tomorrow." I tried to stand up, but Meguru sat me back down.

"You need to rest. If you stress your body too much, you won't be able to do anything tomorrow."

"I guess…"

Just then my cell phone started ringing from my room.

"Can someone get that? Meguru won't let me get up…" I said.

Satoru went up and back down the stairs quickly and handed me my phone before it stopped ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Joan Connors?" the person on the other line said.

"Yes. Who I this?" I asked.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Iyame, Lady Connors' personal doctor. I regret to inform you that your mother left us this morning. It seems her illness spread to her heart more than I'd realized, and it gave out despite my best efforts. I offer my sincerest apologies."

I was quiet.

"Joan…?" Meguru said quietly, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"I see. There was nothing you could have done. Thank you for everything you've done for her."

"She did ask me to relay a message. She said to tell you, 'Do what you need to do.'"

After a small conversation he hung up, but I didn't move the phone from my ear. I just sat there in disbelief and shock.

"Who was that?" Haruhito asked.

I pursed my lips, and the phone slid from my grasp. It plopped on the couch anticlimactically, and my shaking hands moved to cover my face. "…It was the doctor."

"A doctor?"

He killed her… he amped up the virus and killed her…

Tears leaked onto my palms and I kept my lips sealed. I wanted to calm down and think, but my anger showed through m trembling body. Sadness also made me tremble, and the tears on my hands only made me more aware of it.

I'll kill him. I'm going to make him pay for everything he's done. I'll spill is blood on the floor, and smile as he begs at my fingertips. Nothing, and I mean _nothing_ is going to stand in my way.

"He'll pay…" I choked through the tears.

"Joan, you can talk to us." Meguru said, putting his hand on my back.

"He'll die at my hand!" I screamed, throwing my phone at the hardwood floor. "I won't sleep until his blood is on my hands! I'll never forgive him!" In my rage I drove my fist through the wall, leaving everyone speechless.

"I'm sorry…" I said, pulling my hand out. "I'll fix it later… I just… I'm going to my room."

Someone grabbed my wrist just before I went up the stairs, and the texture of fabric gave it away.

"Joan, please. Talk to us." Meguru said.

I told them everything. About the virus, about my mission and how my mom put me up to it, about how my job as a thief was just to have an excuse to break into places, and how the night before was all because of an assassin.

"And just now, after everything that's happened… after how far I've come… she dies the day before it all came together."

"Okay, I understand most of what's going on, but I don't understand how Ace fit's in."

"His name is Corey Roger, but his alias is Ace. He's an assassin. Someone from the black market hired him to kill me. Tomorrow, when I'm going to be toast regardless, I was going to let him kill me."

"Why would you let him kill you?"

Because being alive would be a nuisance to everyone. If I'm alive after my dad, I can spread the virus and take everyone else down with him. Remember he injected me slightly after infecting Mother with an experimental prototype. He rejected it and disposed of the remaining, but I discovered that it is dormant at first, hiding inactively and multiplying in the host, then erupts in a contagious outburst. If only one more person gets infected and dies after Fathers death, I'll fail Mother."

"She died because of the virus, correct?" Haruhito asked.

"Right. Dad infected her when I was small."

"So you've been fighting all this time for your mom?"

"Right."

"Idiot." Shiki spat.

"I've come this far. I'm not about to give up just because of a little setback. I started this mission to please my mother. Now, I'll avenge her. Even if my mom wasn't a part of this, I can't stand by and watch my father murder the entire human race."

"Seriously? He wants to kill everyone?"

"Yes. He'll stop at nothing to 'protect me' from people. Mom told me about it a long time ago. I had a sister that was murdered when she was small, and now my dad is determined to protect me from that, and I guess killing everybody is his solution."

"Why can't you just get him arrested for murder?" Satoru asked.

"That won't work. If I don't kill him, he'll break out with his black market buddies and kick start the virus. It'll be like a game of Infection on steroids."

"Infection?"

"On Android it's called Plague Inc, but basically he can control every aspect of the disease, and has no limit. In other words, he has unlimited DNA points."

"So… the survival of humanity rides on tomorrow?"

"Yeah…"

"Joan… You said the entire virus was controlled by a computer, right?" Meguru asked, speaking up for the first time.

"Right. It's controlled mainly on my father's main monitor, and all the other computers with any data about the virus are being destroyed by Lita and her husband."

"So, if all the files that control the disease are in your father's computer, doesn't that mean once you destroy it the virus in you will become inactive?"

"Unfortunately not. The virus inside of me is kind of on autopilot. Exactly twenty years after its injected in the host, it becomes contagious. The host has seventy-two hours to live after the outburst."

Everyone was quiet.

"So no matter what… Even if I run long enough for you to not need my soul… Even if I don't have Ace kill me… I'll be taken by the virus, and I'd take the whole world down with me. I _have_ to die."

Meguru pursed his lips. "…Do you really have to die?"

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"I just don't feel like that's right…"

"Meguru, look. Tomorrow, either I'll let Ace kill me, or I'll wait for you guys. You're going to take my soul to heaven to be reincarnated. I need you guys to do that. If I don't die tomorrow, everyone-"

"I don't want you to die!" He yelled, standing up and slamming his hands on the table.

There was a shocked silence around the table, including myself.

Meguru looked as if he was about to cry and continued. "I don't want to go back to being scared of my hand. You promised you'd stay by my side!"

I bit my lip as tears welled in my eyes. Everyone looked back and forth from Meguru to me, and he spoke up once more as tears spilled from his eyes.

"I love you!"

"Meguru! This is what I was trying to talk to you about! You know falling in love with a human is taboo!" Kakeru exclaimed.

Tears spilled from my eyes as I said, "Meguru… I…" I bit my lip, but decided to continue. My voice shook as I said it, and bigger tears spilled from my eyes, but I was going to tell him. "I love you too…"

He had a split second of happiness, but I quickly spoke up again.

"But I have to do this… I can't be selfish. Meguru, I want to stay alive, I want to be with you, but I… I don't want anyone innocent to die… I… I don't want you to get hurt either…"

"Joan, I-"

"Kakeru, can someone else be my bodyguard until tomorrow? If I'm around Meguru any longer, I'm going to have second thoughts…"

I sat bawling in my room after a dramatic argument over who would be my new bodyguard, and another dramatic scene where I ran away and up the stairs. I felt pathetic, but there want much I could do. So, I wrote. I wrote everything I wanted to. Thoughts, dreams, feelings, stories… I wrote everything I had ever wanted to write. Anything and everything was now in some labeled word document.

My fingers slowly stopped typing, and as I saved the last document my tears had run dry. Everything I had been holding in these last eighteen years since I started this mission was finally on paper. Well… digital paper.

Now, I have some preparations to take care of.


	10. Chapter 10

1 day until I'm toast…

A wicked and broken smile stretched across my face as I stared in the mirror. I still had cuts on my face from when Ben slashed me, and several small bruises had appeared as well.

Today, everything would be over. In the next twelve hours Father will be dead, Ace will have given me the Ace of Spades, and the demons will most likely have taken my soul. It all happens today.

My suit had been altered once more, and it now covered every part of my body from the neck down. Black combat boots covered my feet, and fingerless leather cloves covered my hands. My katana rested in its sheath attached to my side, and a brand new revolver rested in a holster on my other side. My utility belt from the ball had been restocked, also.

I stood in the bathroom facing the mirror, brushing my hair into a high ponytail. I twirled the handing locks into a tight bun and slipped a black beanie over, to hide the blonde locks.

"Joan, are you up?" Someone asked, knocking on the door to my room.

"Of course I'm up. I get up at 4 a.m. every morning."

"It's midnight." Kakeru replied, standing in the doorframe.

I smiled. "Even better."

"Are you leaving now?" He asked.

"No, I'm still getting ready. I have a lot to do."

"Like what?"

I smiled a sad smile. "Say goodbye."

I left the house shortly after that, and because Kakeru was my new bodyguard he left with me. He was slightly irritated because I wouldn't tell him where we were going, but I didn't want to think about it very much.

I placed a bouquet of flowers on Angela's doorstep, and to verify it was me that left them there I left a note with them. I said, "Just name the kid Baxter Ray."

We stopped by Lita's next, and for her I left something important. In sixth grade I stole a book called _Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy_, and I'd hidden it in a place she'd never find it. I placed it in her mailbox, and on her favorite page I'd hidden a note to her.

It read:

_Dear Lita,_

_I love you. I love you more than anyone on this entire planet. You are my best friend. You're my sister. Just because it was your job doesn't mean I love you any less. I wouldn't trade my time knowing you for anything else. The memories and friendship I have with you are precious to me, and they always will be. I don't want you to regret anything. Everything you did to help me contributed to saving humanity from my father. I can't thank you enough. Without you, I never would have completed my mission. Thank you from the bottom of my heart._

_Love,_

_Joan Connors_

I'm sure it would make her cry when she read it, and my bookmark said to read anything with her name on it in my laptop. I put all assorted documents in folders, so basically she just had to go through her folder.

As I thought about it I remembered the night before. At about eleven, when everyone was asleep, I put my laptop at Meguru's bedside. A post-it note said 'Read Me', and his folder was in all caps. I just hoped he'd be strong enough to read it.

"Are you ready? If we go now, everything should be over before morning." I said.

"Don't ask me. I've been ready for ten days. The question is if you're ready."

I smiled. "I've been ready for eighteen years."

Here I was, standing in front of his main laboratory. He was inside, and he was going to die within the next hour. Adrenaline hade my heart pound in my ears, and my hands trembled with excitement. This was the battle I'd been waiting for. Today, everything I've been training for will be tested. Right now, humanity's survival is resting on my shoulders.

"Come on, the sooner we go, the better." I said, gripping my katana tightly.

Kakeru nodded.

I used my dynamic duo to unlock the door, and I had Kakeru put up a barrier. For once, I didn't want the cameras to see me. If Father woke up, he'd send an army of guards, and I wasn't in any condition to fight all of them.

As soon as guards entered the barrier Kakeru and I would take them out, and I took a detour to the main manufacturing room. With the flip of a switch everything was shut down, and every robot guard powered off. I kicked the switch several times, causing the box to break. I had to be sure there was no way for him to power them back up.

"Now, his main computer is this way. We can erase all the data and destroy the computer, but I'm sure by then he'll be awake. That's when I need to kill him. Everything needs to happen perfectly. Be prepared to fight, because I doubt this is all going to go according to plan." I said.

Meguru POV:

I woke up to a quiet house, and I was about to check on Joan when I remembered the night before. Tears welled up in my eyes again, and my heart heaved in my chest. I moved to grab my glove off of my nightstand, but I met a plastic surface instead.

My eyes widened when I saw Joan's laptop, and a brightly colored post-it sat on top of it.

'Read Me.'

I opened the laptop hesitantly, almost fearfully, and started it up. The first thing that caught my attention was her screensaver. It was a collage of photos, and it looked like she'd edited it herself. I looked at the pictures for a minute, and most of them were of her and Lita. They did lots of silly photos, and there were others where they were dressed really fancy. In the bottom corner I saw one of them about to go on a mission, and I smiled at it.

'She's probably on her mission now…' I thought.

Suddenly I caught a glimpse of the middle picture, which was larger than the rest. I don't know how I missed it at first, but when I saw it my eyes watered. It was a picture of Joan and me, taken just a few days ago. Lita asked for a picture of her dress before the ball, and she made me stand with her. She linked her arm with mine and made the peace sign, smiling brightly at the camera. I smiled and made the sign too, but just as she shot the picture my eyes wandered in her direction.

When I looked closer I saw she photo shopped a little heart between our heads, and drew arrows pointing to each of us.

Right next to the picture was a folder in all caps, with my name under it. I was curious, and with the note beside me assuring me I could go through it, I opened the folder. Suddenly a large list of documents opened, and I assumed each of them had something to do with me. I took a deep breath and clicked on the first document.

Joan POV:

'I'm here… I'm really here…!' I repeated as I stood before a wooden door. There was a plague on it, and all it said was 'Doctor Connors'.

"Is he inside?" Kakeru whispered.

I shrugged. "Maybe." I whispered back. "If he is, this all happens now."

I didn't wait for him to respond and went to unlock the door, but to my surprise it was already unlocked. A smile crept onto my face and I said to myself, "He's waiting for me…"

The door opened quietly, and the room beyond was dark. The only lighting came from the massive monitor, and a chair casted a shadow across the floor. There was a dark figure in the chair with its back to us.

"Sweetheart, is that you?" it asked.

I gripped my katana tightly.

"I've been expecting you for some time."

I still didn't respond.

"Aren't you going to talk to me?"

"I have very little to say to you." I spat.

He spun around slowly and looked at me. "Sweetheart… Why don't you understand?"

I clenched my teeth.

"I'm doing all of this because I love you."

"Cut the crap, you murderer."

He looked hurt. "Baby, please, listen to me. I'm getting rid of anyone who can hurt you. That way, you'll be safe forever. I'll protect you all by myself."

"You're so ignorant…" I snarled, my speech coming out broken.

"What do you mean, dear?"

"The only one who's ever hurt me is you!" I screamed.

He wore an expression of shock.

"You killed my mother you bastard! That was your wife! You're murdering innocent people for an unrealistic reason! It's your fault I have to kill you, and it's your fault I have to die!"

"…You… have to die…?"

I clenched my fists tightly as my frustration made me start to cry. "You idiot… you fucking idiot… You injected me with that fucking virus you asshole! Now I have to die before I infect anyone!"

A silence enveloped the room, and that only made me angrier.

My dad's eyes were scary. They were empty, and they reminded me of fish eyes. Hell, he looked like a dead fish. He was sweating, and he was talking to himself frantically. I heard "I failed," and "Victoria will never forgive me now."

"So… I've lost another daughter… and this time it was by my own hand…" He said.

I'll kill him… Right here, right now, I'm going to kill him. I'll end this once and for all, right now!

I got ready to lunge at him with my katana, but he suddenly pulled a gun out from under his lab coat. He pointed it at me and said, "I'm sorry, Sweetie… I'm so, so sorry for failing you again… Victoria, ill you ever forgive me for being such a bad daddy and hurting you?"

Just then I felt lightheaded, and a voice that wasn't my own said, "You hurt my little sister, and you killed my mother. You may be my dad… But I can never forgive you. I hate you almost as much as my sister does."

My dad's fish eyes started to water and he trembled. "Victoria… My baby… I love you… Please…"

Just then a white mist came from my body, and in a flash of light another appeared before me. I recognized the second as my mother, and the first one was a little girl. I assumed she was my sister.

As the mist left my body felt weak, and in a hazy lightheadedness I fell to my knees.

"We hate you, scum." All three of us said.

My dad screamed, and a bullet fired at me. Kakeru grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way just as the bullet passed my mom and sister.

"No! Get away from me!" He yelled, firing bullets at them.

"We hate you, scum." We said again. My mom and sister started walking, err, floating closer to him and he screamed again.

Suddenly he shove the barrel of the gun into his mouth, and a gunshot sounded.

Blood splattered on the monitor, and my dad fell over as blood seeped from his mouth and head. Somehow blood had gotten on my face, and I shakily raised my hand up and touched it. The red color stained my fingertips, and a large smile spread across my face. It was a fearful and terrified smile.

My dad was dead. Finally, he was dead, but… I just watched my father kill himself. He was driven to the edge of insanity, and after trying to kill me he shot himself in the head. He died at his own hand, not mine.

To be honest, I was slightly relieved. I can still say I've never killed anyone. I may have stabbed, shot, and beaten people, but I've never taken anyone's life. It made me feel somewhat happy.

I focused my attention to the two ghosts in the room, and their gazed shocked me. My sister's gaze was warm and kind, but my mother still had her cold glare.

"Hiya Sis! Sorry I had to meet you when I was dead, but you weren't alive when I was. I just wanted to tell you I love you! I'm kind of mad at you for giving our soul to demons, but I guess we can't help it… Oh well! Now go and save humanity! I believe in you!" She said. With her last words she returned to a white mist and reentered my body. My lightheadedness disappeared.

Mother rolled her eyes and said, "Don't take it easy just yet. You still have a job to finish." Another flash of light went off, and when it disappeared she was gone.

"They're right… Dad may be dead, but I still have to erase the data." I said. I walked over to the blood splattered monitor and stood next to Dad's body. I was careful not to step in any blood, because traces of other presences would be problematic.

I plugged a USB into the computer and erased all the data from it, including locked files and backup files. Just to be sure like I did with every factory, I it a match and dropped it on the hard drive.

Kakeru and I exited the building quickly, and as we drove on the dirt road to my next destination a loud boom sounded behind us.

I smiled.

It was about 5 a.m. when we got back to the Demon House. I didn't expect noting to happen, and I was right in doing so. An envelope sat on the front steps, and when I read its contents I smiled.

'_You want your Ace of Spades back? Come and get it._'

Don't worry Ace, I will.

I opened the door to the house after stuffing the letter in my back pocket. Right now, Ace was te only thing I had left to deal with.

Perfect.

"I'm going to sleep. I only slept for about a half hour before that, so I'm tired." I said as Kakeru closed the door.

"You're strange, you know? I don't know any humans that could watch someone kill themselves and go to sleep after."

"Well, I was supposed to kill him, so I'm actually a bit relieved. Anyway, I'm sore and tired. Goodnight."

I walked up the stairs and went into my room, closing the door behind me. I quickly changed into some pajamas and crawled into bed, falling asleep quickly after.

I woke up to the smell of bacon, and I heard the sweet sizzling sound come from the kitchen downstairs. My stomach growled loudly, and after changing back into my suit I went downstairs.

"Joan! You sure did sleep in today." Haruhto said.

"Sorry, I went to bed super late last night." I replied, taking my seat next to him.

"I heard you typing. It was annoying." Shiki said moodily.

"You did? Sorry, I needed to write a lot of stuff down before today. After this I won't have the chance to."

"Oh, right! You're getting toasted today! Oh, aren't you killing your dad today too?" Haruhito asked, surprisingly cheery.

"I did that already."

"What!?" Everyone exclaimed.

Kakeru walked down the stairs with his hair in a mess, and he looked _super_ crabby. "Why the hell are you guys always so damn noisy in the morning?"

"Yeah, Kakeru went with me. Now I just have to figure out if Ace is going to kill me or not." I said.

"When did you even leave? I didn't notice you left!"

"Kakeru and I left a little after midnight and got back around five. I've only slept about two and a half hours…"

"So, what happened? I notice you have your katana _and_ a gun." Haruhito asked.

"He shot himself, actually. He freaked out and had a mental breakdown or something. He looked like a dead fish when he was talking to me."

"Well, that may be done now, but what are you going to do about that assassin?"

"I don't want to kill him, so I think I'm just going to pay him off. I'll probably give him something of mine so his boss thinks I'm dead."

"Do you think that'll work?" Kakeru asked.

"I don't know. At this point, I'm making it up as I go."

"That's how you get killed, Idiot." Shiki said.

"I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well have some fun." I replied.


	11. Chapter 11

Just then I smelled something burning, and when I looked in the kitchen Meguru was zoned out. The bacon was about to catch on fire, so I quickly jumped up and moved it.

"Meguru, be careful! You almost set yourself on fire!" I exclaimed. "You must be tired from yesterday. How bout I finish breakfast, and you can sit and rest? Okay?"

He looked at me, and I felt my heart snap. He looked so sad and heartbroken, but I didn't want things to be worse than they had to.

He looked at the floor and turned without a word, heading towards the kitchen table.

"Hey, Meguru?"

He looked at me over his shoulder.

"I'll need my laptop back after breakfast. I have to drop it off at Lita's house."

"Okay." He said, turning back around.

"I'm sorry…" I whispered under the cover of sizzling bacon.

As I started cooking, I realized Meguru barely even started. He had random ingredients out for no reason, and he had left the ingredients I needed in places they shouldn't have been.

"Let's see… When the bacon's done I'll need flour and milk for gravy, and I need eggs for pancake batter… I think I need some- Ow! Shit! What the hell!?"

I looked at my bleeding finger and cursed some more, running it under the cold water.

"Joan, are you alright?" Satoru asked.

"I'm fine. What the hell was that…?" I asked, opening the cupboard again. When I looked, I saw that all of the coking knives had been placed where the pans were supposed to go.

Now I'm really glad I made Meguru stop cooking…

"It'll be about fifteen minutes before I'm done, okay?" I said, changing the topic.

"Okay. I'll yell everyone else." He replied.

Fifteen minutes later I had pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy all on the table. I managed to avoid another accident, but I did give in and put a Band-Aid on my finger.

Conversation filled the table as usual, but the only thing that was different was Meguru's input. He talked less than Shiki did, and that made everyone a bit awkward and tense. But, we feigned ignorance enough to keep a hardy and pleasant conversation going.

"Okay, I need to get going. I have to drop off my laptop at Lita's and get my damn Ace back." I said, cutting off the conversation.

"Are you letting him kill you or not?" Kakeru asked, standing up.

"Nah, I'll let you guys do it. Besides, I don't want to give that kid a bigger ego than he already has. Now come on, I need to fight somebody one more time before I die!"

Without seeing everyone's reaction to my enthusiasm about dying, I left the house.

I drove to the address from the envelope, and eventually ended up at an abandoned navy base. It was fabulously creepy, but it excited me. I was ready for my last fight, and I was ready to win it.

I kicked down the heavy metal door and came face to face with the barrel of an automatic rifle.

"Hello, Joan. I didn't expect you to arrive so early. You must be eager to have a bullet in your head."

I smiled. "Is that so? You sure seem awfully prepared for someone who wasn't expecting company."

He cocked the gun.

"Anyway, I came to give you your cards back."

"What?"

"I did some thinking, and I thought about how useful an incomplete deck of cards is. It isn't, so I came back here so the deck would be useful again."

"Are you implying something, bitch?" Ace snarled.

"That depends. You see, we have three options, and I have three cards." I pulled the three Aces out of my pocket and said, "One, I can kill you. Two, you can kill me. Three, we can compromise."

"What's the compromise?"

"You don't kill me and I disappear. I'll give you something of mine, so your boss thinks you got the job done or whatever."

"How does that benefit you? Aren't you going to die anyway? I overheard Lita talking about your virus."

I smiled wider. "Ace, sometimes people get desperate for just a little more time."

He lowered the gun slightly. "You aren't the same anymore."

I was confused.

"When we were younger, you didn't talk like this… When you were younger, you got scared… Joan, who are you?"

I relaxed my shoulders as tears streamed down my cheeks. "I'm a puppet."

Ace dropped the gun and hugged me, taking me off guard. "I'm going to miss you." He said.

I hugged him back and replied, "I'll miss you too, rookie."

"Wherever you're going to go, just be safe, okay?"

"Don't worry. Where I'm going, no one will be trying to kill me."

"Before you go, can I play cards with you one more time?"

I smiled again. "Anytime, rookie."

We sat at a circular table and shuffled a brand new deck ten time each. I dealt the cards, and took my twenty six.

"Egyptian War?"

"You got it."

2 of Diamonds, 6 of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, 5 of Clubs, Queen o-

_Slap!_

I looked down at the table, and instead of touching the slick cards Ace's had was under mine.

'Shit, he's gotten faster. Oh well, at least now I can play a _real_ game of Egyptian War.' I said to myself.

The shuffling of cards and slapping noises echoed throughout the warehouse for a long time after that, and Kakeru just watched in confusion. I figured he didn't know how to play, and it amused me when he jumped.

Ace had five cards left, and suddenly the game got super serious. We were laying cards down faster than we could read them, and after a giant wave of nothing but number cards, Ace put down his last card.

A damn Jack of Hearts.

I stopped for a second and wiped my brow with my sleeve. It had gotten unbelievably hot in my suit, and I felt dehydrated. I swallowed hard and flipped my top card.

Ace of Spades.

A wide smile covered my face and I said, "I told you I'd be waiting for my Ace of Spades."

Kakeru sat in the passenger seat as we drove towards Lita's house from the base, and after a long time of silence he spoke up.

"I still don't understand how you went from threatening to kill each other to playing cards."

I laughed. "You should pay more attention. "That game of cards settled whether or not he would kill me or compromise."

"What? I thought you two settled that beforehand…"

"Oh no, that was all just getting rid of feelings. He's an assassin hired to kill me, but he was also one of my childhood friends. I was the one who taught him everything he knows about cards, so he left it up to my cards skill to determine my fate. He only hugged me because he knew he would regret not saying goodbye."

"Isn't that what you're doing right now?"

I looked at my laptop in the backseat and said, "I said some goodbyes to her already with the flowers, but everything I never said is in a file on that laptop. So, I'm giving it to her to read."

"Is that smart?"

"I don't know, but it feels right."

I pulled up in front of her apartment complex and placed my laptop at her doorstep. A bright purple sticky note sat on top of it, saying 'Read Me' on it.

I knocked on the door and hopped the complex's gate. Right as my feet hit the ground the door opened, and I heard the shuffling of fabric.

"Hello?"

"Just pick it up..." I whispered to myself.

Suddenly there was a gasp, and I heard my laptop get picked up. "Jo? I know you're there! Where are you hiding? Get out here!"

I didn't move.

"You even made the sticky note purple! And why the hell is my book here? I knew you had it! Jo!"

After trying to get me to come out a little longer she gave up and went inside, taking both the book and laptop with her.

I got back in the car and started it, taking off quickly before Lita could come back outside. Kakeru and I didn't speak a word until I got on the freeway.

"I let Meguru read some files in my laptop too."

"Did you?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how much he read."

"I saw the Post-It note on his nightstand before we left to see Ace."

"Did you?"

"He was crying this morning, you know?"

"I'm not that ignorant. I feel bad about it, but I love him too you know? If I was able to live I would, but I made a promise to you guys. You let me finish my mission, so I'll let you take my soul. That was the deal."

"Do you really love him that much if you're letting go so easily?"

I slammed on the brakes and pulled over, catching Kakeru off guard.

"This isn't easy for me! Do you want me to run away and get you in trouble!? If that's what you want, I'll run to the end of the world and back! But you know what? I don't want to be selfish and kill the entire fucking human population! Do you think killing everyone is worth two years' time of pretending not everybody's going to die unless it's too late!? That's all I'll have Kakeru! I could run from you guys for two years, but then the disease would kill me! I'd become contagious and kill everyone! My Father would win!"

"Are you positive the disease is contagious? If I recall correctly it's only caught through injection."

"Idiot. I told you, the virus injected in me is contagious. So contagious, it would infect all the oxygen on earth within two weeks. I'm damn sure everyone has to breathe, so from the first time thy breathed in a viral cell they'd have seventy-two hours to live. My father couldn't come up with an antidote for his own virus in 18 years, so I doubt anyone could come up with an antidote in two weeks and three days."

Kakeru was silent.

I put on my turn signal and started driving again, keeping my eyes locked on the road. I tried to pretend Kakeru wasn't there, but my anger and sadness kept me aware of it.

"It's killing you, isn't it?"

I didn't reply.

Finally we went back to the Demon House, and it was about three o'clock. I had cooled down, but I still felt like I wanted to cry about it. I felt pathetic.

Once I opened the door I saw the usual scene, but Meguru was nowhere to be seen. I assumed he was in his room.

"Hiya everyone! Not dead!" I said happily, setting my shoes down at the entrance.

"Good to know. At least we don't have to go through the trouble of putting up a barrier in a public place." Haruhito said.

"Did you guys eat lunch already? I'm starving." I said, walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge.

"No, Meguru hasn't made anything. He's been acting weird all day." Haruhito said.

"Is that so? Well I guess I'll make everyone lunch too. How about sandwiches?"

"Sounds good."

I started working on making enough sandwiches to satisfy the demon's crazy hunger, and by the time I'd finished about half an hour passed. I placed them on the table and announced lunch was ready. Before I'd even finished one the entire plate of them was gone, and Meguru hadn't shown his face once.

I was worried. He didn't at his breakfast either. I knew he probably didn't feel like eating, but he never ate much in the first place. He reminded me of a bird. Compared to the other demons he ate nothing. My conscience got the better of me, so I made two more sandwiches and went up to his room.

The door was locked, so I knocked and said, "Meguru, are you in there? I didn't see you eat anything for lunch and I was wondering if you were hungry."

There was no answer.

"Sorry… I'll just put these in the fridge then."

I turned around to go back downstairs, when suddenly I was yanked into the room. The door closed as quickly and silently as it opened, and the room was dark. I felt a pair of arms holding m tightly, and Meguru's head buried in my shoulder.

"Meguru?" I said.

We were sitting on the floor, and tatami mats sat under my bare feet. I knew his room had a Japanese style to it, but I forgot he had tatami mats.

"Joan, run away with me." Meguru said. His voice came out hoarse and broken, lie he was crying.

"What?"

"We can run away from here and be together."

"Meguru, I can't. I-"

He kissed my neck, cutting me off and sending shivers down my spine.

"Please…" He begged.

I want to… I really want to… But…

"Meguru, I can't…"

"Are you scared?" he asked. He kissed my neck again and asked, "Do you think I can't protect you?"

"No, it's not that. You know what will happen if I stay alive. I love you, and I want to be with you, but I can't… Meguru, it hurts…" I said, tears gathering in my eyes. I turned around and hugged him, clutching at his shirt tightly as I started to cry.

I don't know how long I stayed there, but I was suddenly shocked back into reality when the door abruptly opened. Satoru stood in the doorway, and once he saw us his eyes widened.

I sighed and started to get up when he said, "Don't worry, I'll cover for you."

The door closed and I heard him say, "She's sleeping. God, you guys worry too much."

I looked back at Meguru, and he kissed me. It was full of sorrow and longing, but despite how much I knew this would hurt later I kissed him back. Besides, this is the last day I'll get to be with him.

Ten minutes later I went to my own room and started unpacking my stuff from the drawers. I placed it all in bags and labeled them with names. I placed a piece of paper in Lita's bags that told her how to take charge of my bank account, and I entrusted her with some of my most precious belongings.

There was one thing I would give to Meguru which I did plan to give to Lita originally, but I wanted to leave him with something. My most prized possession of all, my katana. I would leave it up to Lita to decide if he got my laptop or not.

When I was done with that I placed them all neatly in suitcases, so whoever could just give the suitcase to my designated person.

I had taken everything but my katana off of my suit and put it away when Kakeru knocked on my door. He opened it and asked, "Are you ready? We need to get this done soon."

I nodded and followed him. He lead me to the backyard were everyone was waiting. My eyes met Meguru's, and I looked at the ground.

"Okay, I'm going to begin the toasting process now. Is there anything you want to say?" Kakeru asked.

"I've said most everything I needed to say, but there's just one more thing I need to do." I replied.

I walked away from him and stood before Meguru. He was about to say something, but I quickly grabbed his collar and kissed him. "I love you." I said. "I'm so happy I got to love someone. Even if we can't be together, I want to thank you for letting me know what love feels like. I want you to have this, too." I handed him my katana and kissed him one more time before walking back in front of Kakeru. "Okay, I've done everything I've needed to do. You can take my soul now."

Meguru started to cry, and I was on the verge of crying too.

"Okay. I'm going to separate your soul from your body. Hold still." Kakeru said. He reached his hand out towards me, and as he got closer I let myself relax. My eyes closed and I waited for death to come.

"Stop!" Someone yelled.

My eyes snapped open and I looked up, locking eyes with Lita who held my laptop in one arm. It was amazing. Beautiful wings spread out behind her as she flew towards us, and I was completely speechless. She was speeding towards us extremely fast, and it looked like she was aiming right at me.

Before I had time to move out of the way she was on top of me, and I found it ironic because it was déjà vu from the other day, but reversed.

"What the hell Jo!? How to you expect me to read this and let you die!? I'm your guardian angel! I'm not letting anything happen to you! I promised myself that as long as I live I'll protect you! You're not dying today!"

Her tears dripped onto my face as she clutched my laptop tightly, and I was almost afraid she was going to break it.

Tears welled in my eyes at the sight of her, and I sat up. "Lita, I have to die. If I'm still alive in the next two years, the virus will spread and kill everybody."

"No you don't you idiot! You erased the data for the virus! It's ineffective!"

"I've told you this before! The virus doesn't need my father controlling it! It's on autopilot!"

"Autopilot doesn't work if you get rid of its instructions! Jo, don't you get it!? You wiped out the autopilot's instructions, so now it doesn't know what to do! It's ineffective!" She screamed.

"...Are you sure?"

"Yes! I found some old samples in a Petri dish and they were completely inactive! Jo, you're cured! You're not going to die! The virus is harmless now!"

I felt unbelievably happy for a second, but that all came crashing down and I started to cry. "Lita... I wish I had known that sooner... I made a deal with the demons, remember? If they let me live for ten extra days, I'd let them take my soul. My ten days are up."

"Jo! No! I'm not letting you die! I love you too much! You can't die!" She yelled, hugging me tightly.

I buried my head in her shoulder as I cried. "I'm going to miss you... And I'm going to miss fighting with that Albino Mexican Disgrace more than I'd like to admit..."

"Quit talking like it's over!"

"It is over dammit!" I yelled.

Lita pulled back with shock on her face, and tears continued to fall down my face as I yelled, "It's over! I took 10 extra days so I can do what I did! Everything is done, and I have nothing to live for now! I'm going to die, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it!"

"I'm going to keep you alive whether you like it or not!" Lita yelled, grabbing my arm and stretching her wings.

Haruhito and Satoru grabbed her arms and pulled her off of me, holding her down as Kakeru tried again.

"No! Don't touch her!" Meguru yelled, standing in front of me.

"Meguru, get out of the way!" Kakeru said.

"No! You're not taking Joan away from me!" He yelled.

"Meguru! Stop it!" I yelled.

"Shiki! Hold him!" Kakeru said.

Shiki grabbed Meguru's arms and twisted them behind his back, and I saw Lita struggling as hard as she could against Haruhito and Satoru.

"I'm sorry, you guys..." I whimpered as Kakeru's arm came closer to me.

"NO!" Both Lita and Meguru screamed.

A powerful gust came from Lita's wings, and the power from Meguru's left hand had been unleashed. With both forces pressing against me from opposite sides, I passed out.


	12. Chapter 12

"You idiot! What the hell were you thinking!?"

"I'm sorry! They were going to toast her! I had to do something!"

God, my head hurts…

I sat up slowly, rubbing my head and flinching. I traced my cheek and used my other hand to feel under my eye, and what I felt shocked me. The slashes were gone, and every part of my body that had an injury on it was completely healed.

"What the hell happened…?" I asked, sitting up and feeling no pain in my back.

"Jo! You're awake!" Lita exclaimed, running and hugging me.

Just then I saw wings sprouting out of her back, and suddenly everything came back to me.

"Meguru, is he okay?" I asked, holding her shoulders firmly.

"I'm fine. Are you okay Joan?" He asked, kneeling beside me.

"I'm okay, too. Better than okay, actually. Somehow all my wounds healed."

"Jo, we have to go." Lita said.

"What? Why? Aren't I supposed to get toasted?"

"No, were running away." Meguru said.

"What? Why?"

"We'll explain on the way. Now let's go!" Lita said, grabbing my hand and running. I grabbed Meguru's and we started running, to where I didn't know, but I had Meguru's left hand in my right, and I couldn't have been happier.

We ended up at the train station, and Lita didn't know which train to take.

"We should go to Kyoto. We'll have time to think on the train ride, and you guys can explain why we're running away."

Just then a train to Kyoto pulled up, and we took it.

There was no one in the train, but I assumed it was because of the hour. It was nearly eleven, and nobody would usually take a long ride late at night.

"So… Why are we running away?" I asked, playing around with the straps on the train.

They looked at each other.

"You see… There's a lot you don't know." Lita said.

"Try me." I replied, swinging on the straps.

"If a human can survive ten days after their toasting date, their name will be erased from the Fate Database and no one is legally obligated to kill them."

"So were running away, and if we can run until midnight no one will have to toast me?"

"That's basically it."

"Cool! I said, smiling. "But what's the catch?"

"There's a taboo among demons, and it's their number one rule. They can't fall in love with humans. For angels, they cannot alter a human's lifespan or assist them in doing it."

I stopped. "What?"

"The worst punishment is execution."

"What!? Meguru, why did no one tell me this the other day!? Lita, why are you helping me!?"

"No one expected you to duck out getting toasted, and they didn't expect me to do anything to stop them. They expected everything to blow over once you got toasted." Meguru replied.

"I'd rather lose my wings than see you die." Lita said.

"There has to be something we can do! I don't want either of you to get executed!"

"Kakeru was so desperate to toast you, because if you got toasted our crimes would be forgiven."

"Then were going back! Request to stop the train! I'll walk if I have to!"

"Jo, if we were scared, we wouldn't be running away."

"No! I'm not letting you two get hurt! That's why I was willing to die!"

Lita stood up and slammed me against the train doors. "When you sacrifice yourself, you only hurt those you left behind you idiot! If you're going down, I'm going down with you!"

Meguru nodded.

"You guys are willing to have every angel and demon against you, just to keep me alive?" I asked.

They nodded firmly.

A smile stretched across my face and I said, "Well, it looks like it's us against two worlds."

The train ride was quiet. We just kind of sat there, either thinking or sleeping. I went in and out of both, and it amazed me how it was so quiet when so much was going on. Kakeru and the others were probably awake and frantic, searching quickly so Meguru would be safe. If the angels had caught wind of what Lita and Ben were doing, I was sure they were looking for me too. I just hoped this quiet moment would last longer.

I leaned my head on Meguru's shoulder and drifted in and out of sleep, somehow feeling exhausted and restless at the same time. Lita was texting Ben and seemed to be stressing, so I asked her what was wrong.

"He's not answering me. I don't know if he got caught or not…" she said. She was nearly to the point of tears, and her hands shook.

"If you want to go and look for him, you can. If you get caught, just try and keep quiet until midnight."

"No. I'm not leaving you. Ben is strong enough to handle himself for an hour. He's fine."

She was lying through her teeth.

I gripped her hand tightly, and as the train chugged closer and closer to the station I started doubting my decision.

The train screeched to a stop at the station, and the doors opened to an empty station. Well, mostly empty. There were only a couple of people who got on the train when we exited.

"It's creepy, isn't it? There's no one here." I whispered.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Lita whispered back.

"It's like the whole world stopped…"

As soon as I said that my heard heaved, nearly pumping out of my chest and making me keel over. Three figures landed heavily before me, and black feathers scattered across the ground.

"Looks like time caught up with you, Joan."

Kakeru…

Meguru stood in front of me and Lita helped me up, using her wing to hug me in a protective barrier.

"You're not touching her." Meguru snarled.

Lita's wings ruffled.

"Give it up Meguru. If this continues past midnight the whole Demon Realm will be after you, and the Angel Realm will chase after that one."

"We don't care. You'll have to go through us before you even touch Jo." Lita scowled.

"You know Joan, I'm impressed. You've captured the hearts of a demon and an angel. Too bad your fate is to die." Haruhito said.

Lita's wing was damn near crushing me, but I didn't do anything to stop her wing from protecting me. It was strange being protected instead of protecting, but it made me feel much safer.

"She's not dying today."

Kakeru smiled. "We'll see about that."

Lita's wing released me in an instant, and suddenly they were all fighting. I felt a bit helpless, and I wanted to fight, but for some reason my arm just wouldn't grab my katana. My feet wouldn't spring me into action. My brain told me not to fight, and so did my body.

It felt familiar. I've seen this before, or at least something like it. I've felt identical helplessness and the same refusal from my body and mind.

Four black wings, and one pair of brilliant white ones. Fierce combat over one prize that will still be fought over afterwards. Death is a high probability, and blood spill is nearly certain. There was something too familiar about it.

"Papa! Papa! Where are you Papa!? Help me! I'm scared! Papa!"

"Shut up! I'll cut your tongue out if you scream again!" A large man threatened, gripping the young girl's arm tightly.

The girl continued to cry, and had no choice but to follow the man. He led her to an abandoned warehouse, and inside were five more men. She only recognized guns, alcohol, and cigarettes, but she assumed the other things on the table weren't good ones.

"Where'd ya find er?" One of the men asked in a drunken and raspy voice.

"Walkin around near the clinic. It's Wacko's daughter."

"Ya mean the doc's? He'll pay a fortune for er."

"I think we should rough er up a bit first, ta show ol' Wack we're serious."

The girl suddenly got very scared, and she realized none of these men were going to help her. She would have screamed again, but she was trying to stay alive. The man handcuffed her to some sort of piping, and she was unable to move very far. Of course she struggled, but her small body was unable to break the chains.

"Go grab me a knife-"

Suddenly the weapons rack was shoved t the other side of the room, and one of the men who hadn't spoken yet pulled out a gun. "Police! Nobody move! You're all being arrested for kidnapping and the possession of illegal firearms and narcotics!"

"I knew he was fishy!" The other man who hadn't spoken up yelled, pulling a pistol out of his jacket.

Within seconds all hell broke loose, and the little girl was amazed. An angel, disguised as a devil, came to save her and take out the demons. At least, that's hat her innocent mind wanted to happen.

Suddenly the angel's white wings were splattered in red and went limp, a dull thud following the sudden silence. Three demons went down, but there was still one left. With his face splattered in blood he walked over to the little girl, and before she could even scream she felt immense pain in her head. Her vision went red for a split second, and then it was all black.

That's it… My sister… she has the same soul I do, right? Isn't she an angel now since her spirit moved on? Wait, does it even work like that? I don't care! I need help, and I need help fast! Either she needs to show up, or her angel soul self needs to sprout wings!

Suddenly, without any warning, the brilliant white wings were splattered with red. Vibrant, beautiful, destructive blood red.

"_Lita!_" I screeched, my pleading and helplessness being forgotten. I felt a sudden warmth deep inside myself, and my entire body tingled.

No POV:

The girl's screech attracted the attention of few, but a blinding light and overwhelming wave of heat attracted all of it. Their heads turned for a split second as the fighting stopped, and their eyes grew wide.

The mortal prize of the battle had suddenly begun doing something inhuman; levitating as her eyes glowed a brilliant white and an unknown light source glowed behind her also. Suddenly wings sprouted behind her back, and before anyone had the chance to see them she charged. One little lap sent her rocketing towards her target, and she had a style of desperation. She was going to protect everything she needed to, and no one was going to stand in her way.

As the three challenging demons were forced back, the girl set foot on the ground and rested her wings. They were grand; giant white wings that dragged behind her as she walked. They were fast, strong, and light. They could allow her to do anything she wanted to do, and she was ready to use them to her full advantage.

Just as she was about to attack again another black winged figure showed up, and a white winged figure showed up shortly after it.

"Lita!" The white winged figure yelled, immediately running to the red winged angel.

The girl kept her eyes locked on the demons in front of her and snarled, "You hurt my Angel, but this time I can protect them."

Her voice was overpowering. It was fierce and deep, but still had a feminine and angelic tone.

"I don't know what you did or why you have wings, but I'm not going to let Meguru get hurt because of you!"

She smiled. "Kakeru, don't you remember me? I drove my father to suicide alongside my mother."

His eyes widened. Before he could speak, another black winged figure landed heavily, shaking the earth beneath him. He had an intimidating air, but at the same time he didn't scare anyone around.

"I've heard there's quite a lot of ruckus happening…" He said. "I came to check it out."

"Demon King…" The girl spat.

The other demons there were surprised, since they didn't quite explain the Demon Realm to Joan or even say there was a king in the first place. If things weren't interesting enough already, she had grabbed every strand of their attention.

They would have understood much more if they would have realized at the moment that in the body inhabited two wills and memories, which had to sort themselves to create one whole soul. Kakeru had realized this, but he didn't realize everything.

At the moment Victoria was dominant, but it was Joan's rightful body and consciousness. Internally Joan was sorting everything herself, and she left her perfectly capable sister of keeping her alive while she sorted and tweaked a few things.

Victoria heartily agreed, happy to protect her sister's angel and avenge her own. She had become an angel very recently, but her case was special. Since her soul was special and replaced in a new body before it was ready, she kept a small piece and ended her cycle of reincarnation. She became somewhat of a guardian angel of herself, and could only be fully awakened when called upon. Now that she was able to unleash the angelic side of herself, the small piece that is her will merge with the original soul, making it whole and combining all elements of both pieces.

"Ah, if it isn't the special case soul Victoria. What are you doing wandering around and making a ruckus?" The Demon King asked.

"I'm fixing a mistake." She replied, a smug smile on her face as she felt her sister beginning to finish.

"Oh?"

Her smile grew wider. "I'm merging back with my original soul. Don't you remember? My pervious soul's carrier couldn't die and be reborn until I merged with it. But, 10 days ago, it was her day to die. Due to certain circumstances I convinced the angels to leave her alone, but you were incompetent and sent your demons after her. Her name was never meant to be in the Fate Database, but somehow it got there before I was ready. Now, since I wasn't able to prepare myself fully, she will have to merge her soul with my angel properties."

"Wait… Doesn't that mean…?" Meguru started.

"My sister will be half angel, and fully immortal. Her name is to be removed from the database and your actions helped save her. All of you have corrected an error made by whoever entered her name in the database."

The Demon King was furious.

"You…! You held a mortal for 10 days without toasting her!? I shall have you all executed for you behavior-!"

"Father, if we did toast her it would have been one of the most catastrophic mistakes in demon history. It may have even started a war with the angels." Kakeru pointed out.

Suddenly a messenger appeared and landed next to the Demon King. "Sir, the king of the Angel Realm has requested an audience with you!"

The king glared at everyone, and without a word he left.

Joan POV:

I took back control of my consciousness and body as the King took off, and as I did my eyes stopped glowing. The wings stayed, though, and there was a split second of silence as the king disappeared into the distance.

"Lita!" I yelled, nearly tripping over my own feet as I ran to her. "Lita! Lita! Are you okay? Talk to m-"

"Jo, calm down. I'm not hurt." She said calmly.

"But the blood-"

I cut myself off as my eyes took in her pearly white wings, and Victoria's mischievous laughter sounded in the back of my head.

"I sure do love my sister, the little genius." I said.

We helped each other up and smiled.

I turned to all the demons standing before me, and a wide grin stretched across my face. "Oh, no! You caught me! Please don't toast me!" I teased.

Suddenly someone's arms were around me, and I didn't even have to think to know it was Meguru. He was squeezing me tightly, crying tears of relief as he struggled to find the right words.

I hugged him back and said, "I love you."

The time after that was somehow dramatic and exciting, but calm and relaxed. I was still having trouble believing I wasn't going to die, and somehow I was now half angel. Victoria explained it to me, but it was still hard to believe.

"So sis, you know how we have the same soul, right?" Vic asked.

"Yeah, how is that?"

"Well, since I became a ghost I had a piece of our soul, and they reincarnated it before it was ready to move on. Because they recycled the rest of my soul my cycle of reincarnation ended, and I became a guardian angel of myself in a way. A few hours ago you called upon me, and I was able to reconnect the souls. So, my angel self is now a part of you, and you're half angel. Angels don't reincarnate, so your cycle is over. You're immortal."

"Seriously!?"

"Yeah. That's why no one is getting charged with anything. If you _had_ been toasted, the soul would have collapsed in on itself due to two premature reincarnations. So, Lita and Meguru prevented a mistake from happening. Originally that would have killed you, but because I had to merge with you while my angel properties were still in effect, you inherit them."

I smiled. "Sweet wings too."

"This is quite strange, isn't it Demon King? I've never seen this happen before." The Angel King said.

"A human falling in love with a demon prince, and being best friends with her guardian angel, all while her angel sister has a part of her soul. It is very strange."

"Well, it looks like we both messed up on this one. How did Victoria gain access to the Fate Database in the first place?"

"She's a demon in an angel disguise."

The Angel King smiled. "Is that so?"

Everyone sat in the living room quietly, still in shock from the nights events. It had taken forever to stop Lita from sobbing uncontrollably, and it had taken me some time to calm down too. Victoria made the vision so real, and I kept double-taking to make sure she wasn't bleeding.

Meguru gripped me hand tightly, and he had been trembling for the longest time.

"So, since my 10 days are up, am I going to have to move back into Lita's apartment?" I asked.

"Why would you have to do that?" Kakeru asked, smiling.

"We're giving you a place to stay until you get toasted." Haruhito added.

I smiled. "Victoria ended up pulling the strings. She entered my name in the database so she could connect our soul while she was still an angel."

"Victoria did? She's smart for a little girl." Lita said.

"Well, if she was alive she'd be thirty."

"Right, right. She's older than you."

I leaned back on the couch and I thought of my wings. "Do you know why my wings are so big?"

"I think it's because of the situation. Special cases usually get special things, you know?"

"Makes sense. Heh, now I can finally fly like I've always wanted to."

"Hey, can you clear something up for me? Where is Victoria now?" Satoru asked.

"She's here." I replied, pointing to my head. "Her consciousness and thoughts are in my head. So are her memories and other things like that. I bet if we try she can take control of my main consciousness and body like before."

"That was scary! You started glowing and you sprouted these crazy big wings!" Lita exclaimed.

"I bet I looked badass." I replied, lacing my fingers through Meguru's.

Everyone had left Meguru and me alone, and I was a bit concerned. He hadn't said a word to me since I told him I loved him and I was wondering what he was thinking. As soon as the door closed to my room I was going to ask him, but he kissed me before I could even think.

"That's not fair…" He said between kisses. "You're supposed to let me… say it first…"

I smiled as my arms snake around his neck. "If you wanted to say it… then you should have."

He stopped for a second and held me close. "I love you."

I smiled. "I love you too."


End file.
